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Today is the second annual Women’s Entrepreneurship Day (WED), a day dedicated to celebrating, honoring and supporting women entrepreneurs throughout the world. The inaugural WED was held last year in New York City at the United Nations and was recognized by 144 countries. In addition to entrepreneurship, this is also a day to empower women and discuss women’s issues.
Facts about Women Entrepreneurs:
- The number of women-owned businesses grew by 27.5 percent from 2007 to 2012
- Women are starting businesses in the United States at 1.5 times the rate of men
- This year the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program won sole source authority, allowing contracting officers to directly award contracts to women-owned small businesses
- American S&P 500 companies without female boardroom members endured an opportunity cost of $567 billion in 2014
- According to a study by ACG, Inc., the U.S. is the country with the most favorable conditions for female entrepreneurs, and NerdWallet reports that Boulder, CO, Bridgeport, CT and Denver, CO are the top three cities for these businesswomen, respectively
- The new $10 bill scheduled to be unveiled in 2020 will feature a woman
- Of the 960 active Fortune 1000 companies, women hold 17.9 percent of board seats, and companies with no women on the board have decreased from 18 to nine percent
- There are 380,000 veteran women-owned businesses in the U.S., up from 97,000 in 2007
- The Census Bureau reports that 88 percent of women-owned businesses don’t surpass the $100,000 revenue threshold
Today we celebrate the world’s female entrepreneurs, something that should be done every day of the year. As women continue making professional and social strides, they will commandingly advance equality in our country. It is important to support this movement, and to secure equal resources, rights and representation for women.