Access to capital and terms of credit: A comparison of men- and women-owned small businesses

This article compares access to capital for men- and women-owned small businesses using data from the 1333 National Survey of Small Business Finances. Findings reveal that women-owned firms are less likely to use external financing as a source of capital It does not appear however; that lenders discriminate against women on the basis of gender in terms of access to capital. A second part of this study examines the terms under which women obtain cl edit to determine whether they are at a relative disadvantage from that perspective. Findings reveal that women-owned firms Paid higher interest rates than men for their most recent loans In addition women-owned service firms were more likely to put up collateral than men-owned service firms.