The effect of relieving time constraints on the business performance of women-owned businesses: A field experiment

Women business owners typically earn less than their male counterparts. Previous research has shown that unconditional cash transfers increase business performance for men but not women. One possible explanation is that female business owners may face unique constraints and, as a result, may not spend the unconditional cash transfer on their business. In this paper, I test whether providing time-saving services to women-owned businesses can boost their performance. Unlike cash, this intervention is not transferable to other household members. I reanalyze data from a field experiment, in which working mothers in Kenya were randomly assigned to receive cash, time-saving services (free meals and laundry), or to a control group. I focus on a subsample of working mothers who are business owners (N = 557). My results show that those who received time-saving services reported a 70.4 % increase in revenue compared to the control group. In line with prior findings, cash recipients did not outperform the control group. The cash was frequently spent on household expenses like food and school fees, potentially explaining its failure to increase revenues. These findings suggest that time-saving interventions may effectively contribute to closing the gender gap in business performance by alleviating burdensome chores that disproportionately affect women. My study highlights the potential impact of targeted interventions to boost the performance of women-owned businesses, emphasizing the need for nuanced approaches to foster inclusive business environments worldwide.