diff --git a/Lib/test/test_startfile.py b/Lib/test/test_startfile.py
index 8eeae72..9dce8fd 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_startfile.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_startfile.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 from test import test_support
 import os
 from os import path
+from time import sleep
 
 startfile = test_support.get_attribute(os, 'startfile')
 
@@ -26,11 +27,16 @@
         empty = path.join(path.dirname(__file__), "empty.vbs")
         startfile(empty)
         startfile(empty, "open")
+        # Give the child process some time to exit before we finish.
+        # Otherwise the cleanup code will not be able to delete the cwd,
+        # because it is still in use.
+        sleep(0.1)
 
     def test_empty_u(self):
         empty = path.join(path.dirname(__file__), "empty.vbs")
         startfile(unicode(empty, "mbcs"))
         startfile(unicode(empty, "mbcs"), "open")
+        sleep(0.1)
 
 def test_main():
     test_support.run_unittest(TestCase)