GENDER DIFFERENCES IN VENTURE FINANCING: A STUDY AMONG CANADIAN AND US ENTREPRENEURS

Abstract

Entrepreneurship contributes significantly to economic growth and female entrepreneurs are strongly involved because their economic contribution is steadily increasing. However, research also reveals that female entrepreneurs face more financial barriers when compared to their male counterparts. Therefore, it is of prime importance to understand better female entrepreneurs’ behavior regarding financing. The purpose of this research was to explore gender differences related to financing with an intention to uncover why such differences exist. An empirical study involving a sample of 946 entrepreneurs from Canada and the United States was conducted to examine the issue. Results revealed that female entrepreneurs start their ventures with less capital than males, have a lesser tendency than males to obtain a bank loan and have a perception of being more in debt than their male counterparts are. Moreover, both variables depicting the smaller size of female-owned ventures and the intrinsic motivations expressed by female entrepreneurs acted as explanatory factors for the lower proportion of bank loans in the case of female-owned venture startups.