A number of limitations were placed on this study which affected the results obtained. First, there was no existing database of any kind with which to collate the information. Second, the survey was clone during the "off season and many seasonal businesses could not be reached. Third, the amount of information obtained was limited to a 15-20 minute telephone conversation, so it cannot be assumed as a definitive statement on women in business in the Yukon. The Source of the population was limited to those who had some legal status-licensed, incorporated or partnership - and hence the businesses tended to be "traditional" or "status-quo". Because of this, the results can only reflect women's involvement in the traditional/formal economy of the Yukon, with little hint of the extent of women's involvement in the informal economy. The "informal" economy in this study included only those businesses legally registered with the Yukon Bureau of Statistics. Many Yukoners during the Yukon 2000 process called attention to the "non-wage" of informal economy goods and services produced by individuals, households or community groups as well as businesses, used or exchanged on a largely informal basis. Examples of this would be the harvesting of game and fish for food, or part-time cottage industries, most of whose product is destined for the summer tourist season.

There were 23 complete refusals to respond to the questionnaire. Fourteen of these were by women who acknowledged they were owners. Some reasons given were that the survey was sexist, that they didn't know where the information was going and that, as a principle, they didn't participate in government surveys. The remaining nine were refusals by an individual other than the woman owner. Usually, these were given by men with such rationales as "she doesn't want to be bothered" or "I deal with everything concerning the business."
    Some of the findings are summarized as follows:

• Approximately 31.4% of the businesses operating in the Yukon are wholly or partially owned by women.
  
  
• Over 40% of these businesses are incorporated, 31.6% as sole proprietorship and 26.4% as partnerships. Women tend to go into business with someone else, with only 35.5% being owned outright by a woman; Their business partner is almost never another woman; only 1.2% of the women in the Yukon are in business with another woman.
  
  
• Personal savings was the most often used source of financing, cited by 57.8% of the respondents. Financing through a bank or commercial loan was the next most popular with 25.4% stating they used this source. Sweat equity - the labor and overtime of a business owner that is not necessarily remunerated but which is vital to success - was mentioned specifically by 12.4% of the respondents even though it was not a category on the survey initially.
  
  
• 45% of the women used start-up capital of $5,000 or less. 70.1% overall used $25,000 or less to start their business. A number of women had lengthy stories on the problems of obtaining any funding from the banks or even from their husbands.
  
  
• For those using less than $5,000 of start-up, over 65% used only personal savings and sweat equity.
  
  
• Of the businesses that were owned 76-100% by a: woman, 29.2% grossed less than $10,000 last year. As the category of gross revenue increased for women in business, the degree of ownership decreased.
  
  
• Almost 40% of the women started their business at 30 years of age or younger.
  
  
• As regards education level, almost 31% had their high school diploma, over 26% had a university or college degree and over 22% had partial college. This is a highly educated group by any standard with emphasis on high school and partial college.

Only 6.5% of the respondents stated they were of aboriginal descent. This number is felt to be representative of the limited involvement that aboriginal peoples and specifically native women have in the formal economy of the Yukon. Statistically, significantly fewer Indian than non-Indian people participate in the work force and unemployment is much higher for Indian people; however, many are involved in non-wage work, such as hunting or fishing, that does not show up in employment or business statistics.