What if we could put an end to the gender gap women entrepreneurs face when raising capital? The answer to this question is hard to imagine because we have lived in a world filled with bias for so long. According to a 2014 report issued by the US Small Business Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, only 4% of the total dollar value of all small business loans goes to women entrepreneurs and women receive just 7% of venture fund dollars—in spite of the fact that the growth of women-owned firms outpaces that all other firm types.

But a breakthrough is coming that demolishes the gender gap—and that breakthrough is crowdfunding. Data from the Crowdfunding Center’s Women Unbound project show that campaigns led by women outperform those led by men—proving that when a woman’s access to capital is determined by the market rather than systems dominated by male bias, she is successful in raising the capital she needs.

The Women Unbound’s massive new data set includes analysis of hundreds of thousands of crowdfunding campaigns over a two year period and demonstrates that this bias against women evaporates in the crowdfunding space. Women thrive in the crowdfunding space—not just because of the capital they raise, but also because they discover further funding opportunities, create more engagement with their market, develop new collaborations, and create networks of supporters around them.

Through the education and networking features inherent in The Local Crowd platform, we are proud to accelerate the effective use of crowdfunding by women, particularly by women in the rural United States.

The sky is the limit for Women Unbound!