Not every small business has a succession plan. They work really hard to be able to move it forward. I talked earlier about how 75% of small business owners intend to exit their businesses between 2018 and 2028. Some have exited already. We have only seven of those years left. Of those business owners, 50% wish for the succession of their businesses to a family member on the sale or transfer of it. Finding a suitable buyer is a main issue for a lot of families.
I think there's another issue here as well. I've seen it in agriculture. Traditionally, when I was growing up, it was always the males who came back into the farming operation. That has changed dynamically today. A lot more young women are coming back with university degrees and taking over the family farm businesses, in fisheries and many other small businesses, I might add. One advantage here is that we would be helping female entrepreneurship stay in the family by doing this and making it more accessible. A few years ago, only 16% of small businesses and 29% of farms were majority-owned by women. I think anything we can do to enhance both genders to stay in those operations certainly puts everyone on a level playing field. That's just another part of the equalization that this bill brings to the table for succession planning.