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March 8 marks International Women Day, a day when we celebrate the achievements of women around the world. March is National Women’s History Month in the United States, the origins of which can be traced to March 8, 1857, when a group of New York women factory workers sparked a protest calling for better working conditions. March 8 was ultimately recognized as International Women’s Day and was observed for the first time in 1909.
In celebration of this momentous day, the National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) release new research yesterday, The Growth and Development of Women-Owned Enterprises in the United States, 2002 – 2012: An Analysis of Trends from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners. The report’s key findings include:
*Women are starting over 1,100 new businesses every day
*Women-owned businesses employ more than 8 million workers, generating over $1.4 trillion in revenues
*Women-owned businesses make up 36 percent of all U.S. businesses
*Between 2002 and 2012, women-owned firms grew at a rate two-and-a-half times the national average, 52 percent compared to 20 percent
*91 percent of women-owned firms have no employee besides the owner, only two percent of these firms have 10 or more employees
*82 percent of women-owned firms do not break the $100,000 annual revenue threshold, only three percent earn $500,000 or more in revenues
*The average revenue for a woman-owned business is $143,731
*In 2002, there were 900,000 minority women-owned businesses in the U.S., as of 2012, there are 3.8 million businesses owned by women of color, making up 38 percent of all women-owned businesses
*Between 2002 and 2012, the number of firms owned by women of color increased by 315 percent
Women entrepreneurs made significant strides from 2002 to 2012, but they continue enduring setbacks: a pervasive gender gap, lack of representation in C-suites and boardrooms and imbalanced funding and contracting options, to name a few. Last year, the World Economic Forum estimated that at the current pace, the pay gap will not be eradicated until 2133, and in 2014 they predicted global gender parity wouldn’t be reached until 2095. These are startling, disappointing figures, and we must work to ensure these estimates are proven incorrect.
On social media, the hashtags #IWD2016 #PledgeForParity and #WomenEntrepreneursWorldwide are being used to commemorate this special day. Celebrate the cultural, social, political and economic achievements of the world’s leading women today!
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