Before the pandemic, things seemed to be looking better for women in the business sector. From only 402,000 in 1972, the number of women-owned businesses in the United States jumped to 12.3 million by 2018. This means that from 4.6% of all businesses, women now own roughly 40% of all businesses in the US, translating to a tenfold increase within five decades. However, when the pandemic broke out in early 2020, it affected not just the healthcare sector, but the business and finance sector as well, leaving millions unemployed and thousands of businesses either bankrupt or buried in losses. Unsurprisingly, this includes a disproportionate amount of women-owned businesses. |