How did the restrictions amid the Covid-19 pandemic influence women's entrepreneurship? Are there any differences compared to male-led businesses? Rebecca Weicht presented IfM Bonn research results on these questions at the Diana International Research Conference in Dublin at the end of June. IfM Bonn researchers found that the COVID-19 pandemic affected female-led firms more heavily. A large part of this effect is due to female-led firms being more prominent in industries and company sizes that were hit harder (especially true at the beginning of the crisis). They also found some evidence in late 2020 and the first half of 2021 of a more pronounced effect on female-led firms that is not explained by industry or company size (corroborated by evidence that suggests that female-led firms had to rely on government support more heavily). While the researchers cannot draw definite conclusions from the data alone, it seemed that female business leaders have been particularly inhibited by private obligations resulting from mandated closures of schools and day-care facilities, which is consistent with other literature.
Dr Rosemarie Kay examined in her presentation the question of the extent to which a succession decision depends on whether a family business is primarily run by men or women. Her research had found that women-led businesses are just as likely to seek and implement a succession solution as men-led businesses if all other things being equal.
