Shattering the Second Glass Ceiling: Financing Women’s Entrepreneurial Ventures

Securing funding is one of the first obstacles every entrepreneur must overcome. However, for women entrepreneurs, accessing financial capital is even more challenging than it is for men. For example, nearly 98% of all venture capital funding in the United States went to start-ups owned and operated by men in 2018. That means that only about 2% of funding went to women entrepreneurs. Scholars have described this phenomenon as the “second glass ceiling.” This research brief provides an overview of existing academic literature on the barriers to funding and financing for women entrepreneurs, identifies current gaps in research, provides recommendations for future work, and identifies practical implications for researchers, funders and entrepreneurs.

Today, only 16% of businesses in Canada are owned or led by women. Why does this matter? Not only do women entrepreneurs represent an important source of economic growth and provide valuable and diverse perspectives, committing to supporting women’s entrepreneurship is one step toward a more just and equitable world.

How to cite

Menking, A., & Kaplan, S. (2020). Shattering the second glass ceiling: Financing women’s entrepreneurial ventures. Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub, Institute for Gender and the Economy. https://wekh.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Shattering_the_Second_Glass_Ceiling.pdf 

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