Today’s economy is fueled by women-owned businesses. In fact, female entrepreneurs launched businesses at nearly double the rate of those owned by men between 2019 and 2023.1 As more leading women emerge in the business realm, it’s important to highlight where and how women are driving economic growth.
It’s equally as important to investigate where women continue to face challenges that their male counterparts do not. By looking closely at male vs female business statistics, we can pinpoint disparities and begin to strategize equitable solutions.
Women in business statistics
Statistics often tell a deeper story than the headlines painted on magazine covers because they provide a data-driven perspective that reveals underlying trends, patterns, and insights. Some top statistics about women business owners include:
- Women own 40% of all businesses in the U.S.2
- The number of female entrepreneurs has grown 114% in the past two decades.3
- Women who founded a business in 2021-2022 reported doing so from a desire for flexibility and financial stability.4
- Women launch an average of 849 new businesses per day.5
- Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino women-owned businesses increased at a much higher rate than all women-owned businesses between 2019-2023.6
As more and more women start businesses to avoid the demands and rigidity of corporate life, they tend to fall into one of four industries.
Top industries for women in business
There are 74 industries to which a business can be classified.7 Of those, half of all women-owned businesses are concentrated in four industries:8
- Other services: Women-owned businesses account for 16.2%, or 2,267,000, of “other services” ventures, including hair and nail salons, pet care, laundries, and dry cleaners.
- Professional, scientific, and technical services: Women-owned businesses account for 14.4%, or 2,017,000, of professional, scientific, and tech services, including legal, bookkeeping, and consulting businesses.
- Administrative, support and waste management, and remediation services: Women-owned businesses account for 11.9%, or 1,671,000, of admin, support, and waste management companies, including office administration, staffing agencies, and security and surveillance services.
- Healthcare and social assistance: Women-owned businesses account for 11.3%, or 1,588,000, of healthcare and social assistance companies, including child daycare and homecare providers, mental health practitioners, and physicians.9
While these four industries are historically where women launch new ventures, between 2019 and 2023, a new type of female entrepreneur emerged. Finance, insurance, warehouse, transportation, and real estate industries saw a 50% increase in women-owned companies.10
Autonomy is key for female entrepreneurs
As we look at what motivates women to launch startups, the answer isn’t typically the desire to be the next Sara Blakely. When polled, the majority of female entrepreneurs said they started their own companies to have more control over their time.3 The desire to commute to an office and clock eight to ten working hours a day is quickly fading, especially in a post-pandemic era.
More women than ever — 72% — want to live balanced, purposeful lives by starting a business, but less than half of those surveyed don’t currently own one.11 So, how can we make business ownership more accessible to female entrepreneurs? We can start by:
- Inspire entrepreneurship at a young age. When female-led or owned companies come together to support young women great things can happen. Part of believing you can create your own company is seeing it happen for someone who looks like you.
- Create more opportunities for business funding. It’s imperative that lenders put a concentrated effort into supporting female entrepreneurs. Companies that are more than 50% female-owned account for only 14.8% of Small Business Administration 7(a) loans, the SBA’s primary business loan program.12
- Build communal spaces for women in business. Being an entrepreneur may be a solo act, but it takes a community of like-minded people to support the vision of a business owner. When government agencies, city councils, and successful business owners come together to support the emerging group of women in business, confidence builds in today’s new wave of innovators.
Women in business revenue statistics
The amount of revenue brought in by women in business is disproportionate to the percentage of businesses owned. While 40% of businesses are owned by women, those companies account for only 5.8% of revenue and 9.2% of the workforce.13
Data indicates, however, that companies whose revenue is growing at a faster pace than others have certain characteristics in common. As more women step into the entrepreneurial space, following in the footsteps of high-performing businesses that prioritize the core values below has the potential to support higher revenue.
Diversity
McKinsey research finds that companies with more than 30% female executives are more likely to outperform companies that do not have women in high-level leadership roles. In fact, for businesses who fall into the 25th percentile for gender diversity on executive teams, profitability is above-average compared to those that do not.14
Core values
Employees are happier when their company sets definitive values. More than 75% of workers consider it “very important” to work within a company with established core values.15 And, it seems women-owned businesses do it better. When we look at male vs female business statistics, employees at women-led companies have a more positive outlook related to the company’s communication, corporate strategy, and mission when compared to male-led businesses.16
Representation
When a company creates a diverse workforce, employees feel more inspired, specifically when women lead. A survey of American workers shows half of employees prefer to work for a female-led company over a male-led company, including 46% of male workers. But perhaps what’s more revealing about women in business holding key leadership positions is how it makes others feel. The same survey found that 71% (men and women) feel that having a woman in a leadership role is evidence that they too can achieve a leadership position.17
The bottom line
When society supports the empowerment of women in business, stronger companies form, employees are more inspired, and more jobs are created. Understanding the positive impact of female entrepreneurs is the beginning of creating a more inclusive business environment for women to thrive.
- https://www.wippeducationinstitute.org/2023-impact-of-women-owned-businesses
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/rhettbuttle/2023/10/30/the-economic-impact-of-women-owned-businesses/
- https://www.inc.com/business-insider/more-women-entrepreneurs-today-than-20-years-ago-its-troubling.html
- https://leaders.com/news/entrepreneurship/behind-half-of-all-startups-is-a-woman/
- https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/07/lending-gap-for-women-business-owners-continues-to-widen.html
- https://newsroom.wf.com/English/news-releases/news-release-details/2024/New-Report-Finds-Growth-of-Women-Business-Owners-Outpaces-the-Market/default.aspx
- https://classification.codes/classifications/industry/gics/
- https://newsroom.wf.com/English/news-releases/news-release-details/2024/New-Report-Finds-Growth-of-Women-Business-Owners-Outpaces-the-Market/default.aspx
- https://newsroom.wf.com/English/news-releases/news-release-details/2024/New-Report-Finds-Growth-of-Women-Business-Owners-Outpaces-the-Market/default.aspx
- https://newsroom.wf.com/English/news-releases/news-release-details/2024/New-Report-Finds-Growth-of-Women-Business-Owners-Outpaces-the-Market/default.aspx
- https://ir.herbalife.com/women-entrepreneurs-study
- https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business-loans/small-business-loan-statistics/
- https://newsroom.wf.com/English/news-releases/news-release-details/2024/New-Report-Finds-Growth-of-Women-Business-Owners-Outpaces-the-Market/default.aspx
- https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/featured%20insights/diversity%20and%20inclusion/diversity%20wins%20how%20inclusion%20matters/diversity-wins-how-inclusion-matters-vf.pdf
- https://www.achievers.com/blog/company-core-value-examples/
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecastrillon/2019/03/24/why-women-led-companies-are-better-for-employees/
- https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/01/25/1305181/0/en/Research-Reveals-Half-of-Americans-Want-to-Work-for-a-Female-Leader.html