Purpose Title II of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act aims to make it easier for new ventures to raise funds from accredited investors via equity crowdfunding. The purpose of this paper is to understand whether Title II equity crowdfunding represents an opportunity for women-owned companies (those that have one or more female owners/founders) to raise capital at rates similar to companies owned by men. Design/methodology/approach The authors conduct an exploratory analysis using a data set containing 6,234 Title II equity crowdfunded offerings aggregated across 17 crowdfunding platforms between September 2013 and December 2015. Findings The authors find that women-owned companies constitute only 15.2 per cent of the ventures seeking funding in this data set; however, gender had no effect on the likelihood of successful fundraising under Title II. Originality/value This study is the first to examine the roll of gender on the success of equity crowdfunding campaigns the USA. It provides empirical evidence that crowdfunding has had limited impact on democratizing access to capital for woman-owned startups and small businesses. The data reveal that woman-owned companies are underrepresented in Title II equity crowdfunding to an even greater extent than they are underrepresented in angel and venture capital (VC) investments. The results of this study also highlight the importance of examining the role of gender in equity crowdfunding across different countries.

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The passage of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act)