How eBay Empowers Women to Lead Startups in eCommerce

eBay relies on a strong community of sellers to make their platform a success. The more people turn to eBay for individual or small business income, the more dynamic a business they have. During the COVID-19 pandemic, eBay made it possible for people to leverage their skills. This, despite challenges at home and in the job market. Women in particular benefitted from the ability to sell from their home at a time when many were over-burdened by increased household, eldercare, and childcare responsibilities. Women lead startups online are helping turn the tide.

No one was spared the impacts of the pandemic. It was obvious early on that women would take a disproportionate hit. Recent economic studies and reports confirm that working women suffered more than men. Direct negative economic impacts than men during the initial pandemic downturn and the months of disparate growth that followed. This was due in part to the fact that sectors of the economy that were especially hard hit. Examples include hospitality, restaurants, and non-emergency health care services, employ more women than men. Women also have reported that they took on more of the drastically increased household burdens. These include remote-school, remote-work, childcare disruptions and similar demands. Given the sacrifices many women have had to make for their family, traditional income sources were not as easy to pursue during the pandemic.

eCommerce Opportunities to the Rescue

As eBay’s new report demonstrates, access to e-commerce opportunities on eBay have helped women, both small business owners and entrepreneurial individuals, deal with these economic and social challenges of the pandemic. For women who indicated they were new to selling on eBay or had increased their selling as a result of the pandemic, 82% said they did so because of job loss, reduction in income, loss of childcare, or a similar hardship. Being able to work from home as their own boss is a game changer. It has allowed them to put extra money in the household’s pockets when other opportunities were not available.

Beyond generalized figures, eBay’s report also shed light on the personal stories of women who use their platform. Jessica Pate is the owner of MyKiddosCollegeFund and started selling clothes on eBay when she was in college. As her family grew, Jessica wanted the flexibility of creating her own hours and has been selling full-time ever since. Her business has grown so much over the years. Jessica is proud that her work provides flexible employment not only for her, but for members of her community as well.

“I have always taken pride in the fact that I am a female small business owner,” Jessica said on the subject. “But as a mother, I worried how I would be able to run my business and take care of my kids who were now home from school due to COVID. eBay makes everything so easy; I didn’t miss a step in keeping my business afloat while being able to provide and care for my family.”

Learn more about how women lead startups are benefitting in eCommerce below: