Gender and Establishment Dynamics
This report examines the gender characteristics and business dynamics of establishments that were in operation as of 2002 for the 2002-2006 period. This paper is the first to report matching data from the 2002 Survey of Business Owners (SBO) and the 1989-2006 Business Information Tracking Series (BITS) in an Advocacy publication series. The series focuses on business dynamics by gender, race/ethnicity, and business type (publicly held vs. non-publicly held businesses). Business owners’ gender, race or ethnic characteristics can be identified only for non-publicly held enterprises. Employer establishments—establishments with paid employees—owned by women had higher closure rates and lower contraction rates than those owned by men or owned equally by men and women over the 2002-2006 period. The average four-year survival rate for all 2002 employer establishments was 70 percent; for female-owned, 66 percent; for male-owned, 72 percent; and for male and female equally owned, 69 percent. I