Research Summary

New Analysis Documents Employment and Revenue Distribution of Women-Owned Firms in 2002

Center for Women’s Business Research  ·  August 27, 2002

As women-owned businesses continue to grow at twice the rate of all U.S. firms, they are an increasingly vital part of the American economy. The following facts from Center for Women’s Business Research’s new analysis, “The Employment and Revenue Distribution of Women-Owned Businesses in 2002,” demonstrate the growth and vitality of women-owned businesses in this nation’s economy.

Employment Distribution

• As of 2002, majority-owned, privately-held women-owned businesses employ 9.2 million people in the U.S.

• Over half of all employment in women-owned firms is in firms with fewer than 50 employees, and 85% is in firms with fewer than 500 employees.

• Nationwide, nearly 9,000 majority-owned, privately-held women-owned firms have 100 or more employees.

• Most businesses in the U.S. are small as measured by employment. Seventy-eight percent (78%) of all firms have no employees, as do 87% of majority-owned, privately-held women-owned businesses.

Revenue Distribution

• Most U.S. firms are also small as measured by revenue. In 2002, 35% of all U.S. firms have less than $10,000 in revenue, as do 48% of majority-owned, privately-held women-owned businesses.

• Another 31% of majority-owned, privately-held women-owned firms have between $10,000 and $49,999 in revenue, and 7% have between $50,000 and $99,999 in revenue.

• Thirteen percent of majority-owned, privately held women-owned firms generate $100,000 or more in revenue in 2002. In fact, 113,000 of these firms have over $1 million in annual revenue.

• Of the nearly $1.15 trillion in revenue that will be generated by majority-owned, privately-held women-owned firms in 2002, the majority – 68% – will come from the 113,000 women-owned firms that have $1 million or more in revenue.

• Among all firms in the U.S., both publicly-traded and privately-held, just over $26 trillion in revenue will be generated in 2002, with 91% coming from the 1.1 million firms that have $1 million or more in revenue.

Methodology This analysis uses the 2002 estimates for women-owned firms and all firms as developed by Center for Women’s Business Research using the Census Bureau’s “1997 Survey of Women-Owned Business Enterprises,” and 1992 to 1997 growth rates provided by the Bureau. The overall estimates were published previously in the Center’s Women-Owned Businesses in 2002: Trends in the U.S. and 50 States, December 2001.

The assumption is made that the employment and revenue distributions of majority-owned, privately-held women-owned firms and all firms in 2002 would equal the distributions in 1997. The estimates for all firms in this analysis include those that are publicly-traded and those with 50/50 ownership.

Center for Women’s Business Research, founded as the National Foundation for Women Business Owners, is the premier source of knowledge about women business owners and their enterprises worldwide. The Center provides original, groundbreaking research to document the economic and social contributions of women-owned firms. To maximize the benefits of this knowledge, the Center has a comprehensive strategy to distribute its research through the media, publications, seminars and consulting. Corporations, government policy makers, educators, organizations, the media, and individuals rely on the Center’s leading-edge knowledge to strengthen their support of women business owners.

Two charts follow.

Research Summaries by Date  ·  Research Summaries by Topic