WASHINGTON DC (November 10, 2017) Female business owners are on the rise, according to reports by the National Women's Business Council.
October was featured as Women's Small Business Month, marking the 29th anniversary of President Ronald Reagan's signing of the Women's Business Ownership Act, creating the National Women's Business Council and ensuring that banks could no longer require women to have a male co-signer for business loans. Here's a look at some recent progress:
• From 2002 to 2012, women-owned businesses increased at a rate 2.5 times the national average: 52% vs. 20%. Employment in women-owned business grew at a rate 4.5 times the national average: 18% vs. 4%.
• In 2016 there were 11.3 million women-owned businesses in the US, with nearly 9 million employees generating more than $1.6 trillion in revenue.
The report concludes: “The growth of women business enterprises over the last ten years is unprecedented; yet, women still lag behind, in earnings and receipts, and in the amount of venture capital and other forms of equity investment that they receive. This is a unique time, in many ways a perfect storm, and it is imperative that we work harder and faster to unlock the tremendous potential of women business enterprises,” said Carla Harris, Chair, National Women’s Business Council.
