It’s a challenging time for a start-up business in this economic climate. The strain that COVID-19 has placed on businesses is likely to result in bankruptcy for up to 40% of grassroots companies. Like that’s not enough, the hardships faced by the population haven’t been proportionally distributed, with women getting the shorter end of the stick. Though initially termed the “great equalizer,” the reality has been nothing close to that.
Impact of the Pandemic on Female Entrepreneurs
Data from the Commercial Department report that female-owned enterprises are less likely to bounce back from the economic backslide resulting from the lockdown. It is expected due to several factors affected by the difference in ownership:
Company Size
Despite the one hundred years that have passed since women’s voices were first heard, female-run companies are still typically smaller than male-owned businesses. Women currently make up the larger part of college graduates. According to business stats, women dominate the entrepreneur world. However, very few women will drive their enterprises past the million-dollar enterprise mark. Further, it becomes more due to the fact that women generally occupy the majority of the industries hit the hardest by the pandemic (beauty, cuisines, fitness, and health).
Unequal Division of Labor at Home
The work perfected by feminists across time might be at risk of being undone (exaggeration, maybe not) as the burden of caring, cooking for, cleaning, and homeschooling of kids under lockdown has fallen almost entirely on women. Though proving this is harder to do, caring for the family is a significant part of the reason why women are less able to found and drive multimillionaire-companies.
In every aspect of daily life, women everywhere seem to be feeling the heat caused by the Corona pandemic more than their male counterparts. From dominating the health care system to being primary caregivers in the home for children that are now homeschooling, the women have their work cut out for them in this pandemic. The pandemic has intensely highlighted the gaps within society, from gender, racial, class, economic, and health-access differences. We must ask ourselves if this it’s something we’re willing to live with or if we should collectively step out against it.
➡ Looking to get featured on Future Sharks?
