Female-Owned Firms during the COVID-19 Crisis
This brief use firm-level data collected between May 2020 and May 2021 in 41 countries, to provide descriptive evidence on the differential effect of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis on female- and male-owned firms. Data suggest that...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Brief |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/890571627634660709/Female-Owned-Firms-during-the-COVID-19-Crisis http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36087 |
| Summary: | This brief use firm-level data collected
between May 2020 and May 2021 in 41 countries, to provide
descriptive evidence on the differential effect of the
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis on female- and
male-owned firms. Data suggest that while female-owned and
male-owned businesses closed permanently at the same rates,
female-owned firms were more likely to have temporarily
closed during the crisis and to have closed for a longer
duration. When able to stay in business, female-owned firms
were more likely to experience a decrease in demand for
their products or services and supply of intermediate inputs
than male-owned firms. They also reduced the size of their
workforce more than their male counterparts and were more
likely to reduce hours worked. Finally, female-owned firms
suffered deeper financial distress than male-owned firms.
Nevertheless, female and male-owned firms show similar
optimism of returning to normal levels of sales or workforce
in the near future. |
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