2013, Volume 1, Number 2
We’ve come a long way since the days of women’s suffrage, and even since the seventies for that matter! In 1977, only about 5% of private business were owned by women and of those, most were in the fields of fashion, fitness, and beauty. While owning and growing a business in any field is commendable, women have more recently catapulted out of these gender-stereotyped fields to excel in traditionally male-dominated areas. These days, women who own multi-million dollar businesses are more likely to be in wholesale trade (20%), finance and insurance (12%), or transportation and warehousing (11%).
Today, women are increasingly likely to take the plug to becoming entrepreneurs. The Harvard Business Review Blog Network recently reported that 37% of all global businesses are owned by women. The figures aren’t yet at the 50/50 ownership point with men, but we have sure made a lot of progress since the days of 5% ownership! This trend towards more women business owners is helping everyone from the women themselves, to their families, to the economy as a whole. The HBR Blog Network reports that women business owners reinvest 90 cents of every dollar earned back into human resources, creating jobs and strengthening local economies.
If all of this isn’t convincing enough to show that female entrepreneurship is on the rise, Forbes recently called 2013 the “Year of the Female Founder”. Additionally, American Express OPEN’s latest Growing Under the Radar report notes that women-led and -owned businesses recently had revenue growth rates of 57%, which is 47% more than their male counterparts. More impressively, these growth rates were during the recession years!
So, if you’ve ever thought about starting a business, it looks like now is the time for female founders.