Women & Entrepreneurship, More In Common Than You Think

by Dorothee Royal-Hedinger · 2009-01-29 18:47:00 UTC
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Lately I've been thinking a lot about women and entrepreneurship. In my exploration of the topic, I've encountered a general assumption that women don't have the "entrepreneurial spirit" that men do, especially in the realm of technology. El over at the Untitled, NY blog recently wrote about the article, 10 Big Ideas That Started in College, of which she noted all those honored in the article were male entrepreneurs and subsequently said:

I can think of many more male entrepreneurs than female. So in the age of Katie Couric and Title IX and Hillary Clinton, why is it that women don't stick their necks out to risk it big in big business as often as the boys?

While it may be understandable for El to think this at first glance, when you look at the facts, it simply isn't true that women don't take risks in business. According to Ladies Who Launch, women are actually launching businesses at twice the rate of men, and they are doing it primarily for lifestyle reasons–they want more freedom, flexibility, and creativity in their lives.

Additionally, here are some encouraging statistics from the Center for Women's Business Research,

  • 10.1 million firms are owned by women (50% or more), employing more than 13 million people, and generating $1.9 trillion in sales as of 2008.
  • Three quarters of all women-owned businesses are majority owned by women (51% or more), for a total of 7.2 million firms, employing 7.3 million people, and generating $1.1 trillion in sales.
  • Women-owned firms (50% or more) account for 40% of all privately held firms.
  • One in five firms with revenue of $1 million or more is woman-owned.
  • 3% of all women-owned firms have revenues of $1 million or more compared with 6% of men-owned firms

Organizations like the Committee of 200 and StartUp Princess are also a testament to the power of women in business and technology. So don't believe the myth and go start your own company!

If you're interested in learning more about women entrepreneurs, check out Empower Women Now's Top 10 Women Entrepreneur Blogs.

Dorothee Royal-Hedinger
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