The gender gap in access to finance: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Using gender as a theoretical framework, we analyse the dynamics of bank, micro and equity finance during the COVID-19 pandemic for a cross-country sample of 8,921 private firms. We provide evidence of slight female favouritism in the debt market during the pandemic. On average, female-owned/led firms access bank and micro finance more compared to their male counterparts as the main mechanism of dealing with cash flow shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic. We find no evidence of gender differences in access to equity finance. The results are robust after controlling for a larger number of firm-specific characteristics and selection bias. We challenge the assumption of “gender-based discrimination” in the credit market, speculating that in the context of high uncertainty, prototypical forms of femininity may perhaps be slightly advantageous as financial institutions seek to hedge their risk by favouring more conservative borrowers.