The conclusion is that terms of credit do not generally differ between female and male business owners. In addition, Orser concluded that women small business owners have, on average, less capital, a narrower range of collateral, and an unproved track record relative to male counterparts. She found that women business owners, when compared with their male counterparts, come away from the banking experience with much less a sense of having been treated with respect and are less comfortable about the banking experience. The reason for this may involve the nature of most women owned businesses. Since such businesses are generally smaller, they may also have a lower perceived capacity to service their loans.
Women are also more likely to be new at business ownership, and to be sole owners.
Sole owners tend to be undercapitalized relative to firms with more owners, and lack the diversity of management skills available to firms with several owners. In conclusion, Orser says that her research points out that the relationship between the business owner and the bank manager can lead to perceptions of bias and contribute to dissatisfaction in the lending relationship. She suggests that although financial institutions appear to have successfully avoided wide spread discrimination in lending practices, those involved in commercial lending relationships are in need of greater sensitivity training. The need exists to communicate better why terms of lending are applied to specific business transactions. Orser's paper, entitled Gender, Structural Factors and Credit Terms Between Canadian Small Businesses and Financial Institutions , is part of the Ryerson Faculty of Business Working Paper Series.