In 2017, female executives are still rare — too rare. Though we like to think we've come a long way since "Mad Men"-era sexism in the workplace, studies like these remind us that in many ways, the glass ceiling is still firmly in place for female business owners and executives. And it's not just the Fortune 500 that has an equality problem; companies of every size still suffer a serious lack of female leadership. Among corporations and small businesses alike, women make up just a small percentage of executives and owners. But increasingly, women who've experienced professional roadblocks in the corporate world are leaving to do things their way, by starting businesses of their own.
1. Business isn't a boys' club anymore — and young female entrepreneurs are succeeding because of it.
One reason men have historically had more small-business success is that they could tap into an existing network of other male entrepreneurs. Thankfully, the balance is beginning to shift: There are now more than 9.9 million firms in the United States owned by women.
2. Today's female entrepreneurs have access to a growing population of mentors.
When it comes to mentoring women, men may exhibit "Reluctant Male Syndrome" — an amalgam of implicit biases that prevent them from forming professional relationships with the opposite sex. Now that we're seeing an increase in female leadership, we're also seeing an increase in young women who benefit from it.
Vogel is already contributing to the effort. “We’ve launched 65 local food businesses,” she says in the video. “35 are owned by women.”
3. Women-owned businesses are growing five times faster than the national average.
According to Womenable’s 2016 “State of Women-Owned Businesses in the U.S.” report, the number of women-owned firms has increased by 45% since 2007, while the overall national increase remained at just 9%.
4. And, internationally, women make up approximately one-third of all entrepreneurs worldwide.
5. African-American women have become the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the United States.
Their numbers grew 322% between 1997 and 2015. #BlackGirlMagic pulls a serious profit!
6. An estimated 340,000 jobs were created by businesses owned by women between 2007 and 2015.
During that same time period, the number of jobs at companies not owned by women actually shrank.
7. Nearly 7.9 million people are employed by U.S. businesses that are owned by women.
Just one of many benefits that we all enjoy when more women are given the space to succeed in business.
8. Women entrepreneurs in the U.S. rank their own happiness at nearly three times that of women who are not entrepreneurs or business owners.
Any path a woman chooses can be rewarding — be it family life, a traditional career, or something else altogether. But with business ownership looking increasingly appealing, we can expect that more women will choose an entrepreneurial path.
9. In 2015, 18% of all startups had at least one female founder.
That's an astronomical number compared to the Fortune 500, where only 4% of CEOs are women.
10. Women are better at writing crowdsourcing campaigns— and they raise more money because of it.
In traditional face-to-face fundraising scenarios, women have a much more difficult time getting investors than men do — and that's been a major obstacle to entrepreneurship for women. The arrival of platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo has cleared the way for some businesses that otherwise might not have gotten off the ground.
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