Financing Profile: Women Entrepreneurs (October 2010)

Perceived obstacles to growth

Majority female-owned firms were facing more perceived obstacles to growth than majority male-owned firms

Table 12 presents the perceived obstacles to growth identified by business owners in 2004 and 2007. In 2007, rising business costs was the top perceived obstacle to growth for both majority female-owned and majority male-owned firms; however, female business owners appeared to be more concerned about this obstacle than male business owners. Moreover, majority female-owned firms were also significantly more likely to be concerned about rising competition and insurance premiums than majority male-owned firms. Importantly, 21 percent of female business owners cited access to financing as an obstacle to growth compared with 16 percent of male business owners (a statistically significant difference). Overall, judging by the generally higher comparative percentages for majority female-owned SMEs in 2007, the evidence suggests that female business owners were more likely than male business owners to operate their firms in challenging business environments.

Table 12
Perceived Obstacles (%) to Growth and Development*

Perceived Obstacles	2004		2007
	Majority Female-Owned	Majority Male-Owned	Majority Female-Owned	Majority Male-Owned
Source: Statistics Canada, Survey on Financing of Small and Medium Enterprises, 2004 and 2007. * Bold value denotes statistically significant gender difference at 5 percent.
Finding Qualified Labour	31	39	34	40
Levels of Taxation	49	46	—	—
Instability of Demand	39	35	37	32
Low Profitability	34	37	—	—
Obtaining Financing	26	20	21	16
Government Regulations	27	35	28	27
Managerial Skills	12	14	12	10
Insurance Premiums	27	38	43	31
Environmental Regulations	—	—	10	12
Rising Business Costs	—	—	59	53
Increasing Competition	—	—	49	36