WLE Leslie member for 31 weeks 1 day Send a message

It seems that if women own businesses equally with men, or are a minority stakeholders, they are largely unaccounted for in the annals of women's business research. Thus, while previously released estimates of women entrepreneurship show it to be a dynamic and fast-growing segment of the economy, it is far larger than originally thought.

Here's why: The U.S. Bureau of the Census excludes many businesses in which women play an equal or minority ownership and management role, including many of the largest women-owned and led firms. Approximately one in seven U.S. workers is employed by privately held majority women-owned firms or 50% women-owned firms. These statistics are not included in the more narrow definition (majority owned businesses) Census data collectors use to assess the economic impact of women-owned and operated businesses.

According to the Center for Women's Business Reseach, when firms which are 50% owned by women are added to the composite, the results are staggering: 10.1 million businesses are privately held majority or 50% women-owned businesses. Taken together, these firms employ 18.2 million people and generate $2.32 trillion in sales. They are also a fast-growing segment, expanding faster than the economy in general, by more than 1 1/2 times the rate of all privately held firms (6%). Today, there are10.1 million women business owners in America, making one in 11 women an entrepreneur in her own right. This compares to the 6.2 million privately held, majority women-owned businesses previously reported.

The Center for Women's Business Research is completing the picture of women's business ownership by looking at some of these currently excluded groups. These include privately held businesses equally owned by men and women; privately held businesses in which women own controlling or substantial minority interest; and publicly-traded companies with majority or substantial women's ownership.

As of 2002, there are an estimated 3.9 million privately held equally-owned firms in the U.S., an estimated increase of six percent since 1997. All told, there are 166,212 privately held equally-owned firms with revenues of at least $1 million and 6,902 with as many as 100 or more employees.

The largest share of privately held equally-owned firms is in the service sector, with 35% in the service sector. Retail trade (19%), finance, insurance and real estate (10%) construction (10%) are the next largest industry segments.

To learn more about the Center for Women's Business Research and the Completing the Picture: Equally-Owned Firms in 2002 study, visit www.womensbusinessresearch.com.