Fact Sheet

Top Facts About Women-Owned Businesses

Center for Women’s Business Research

Center for Women’s Business Research is the source for all of the facts below.

10.6 million firms are at least 50% owned by a woman or women
Forty-eight percent (48%), nearly half, of all privately-held firms are at least 50% owned by a woman or women.
Between 1997 and 2004, the estimated growth rate in the number of women-owned firms was nearly twice that of all firms (17% vs. 9%), employment expanded at twice the rate of all firms (24% vs. 12%), and estimated revenues kept pace with all firms (39% vs. 34%).
Women-owned businesses will spend an estimated $546 billion annually on salaries and benefits ($492 billion on salaries and $54 billion for employee benefits – heath, retirement, and insurance). Health benefits comprise the largest share of benefit expenditures, with 2004 spending estimated at $38 billion.
Women-owned firms employ 19.1 million people and generate $2.5 trillion in sales.
Privately-held 50% or more women-owned firms are just as likely as all privately-held firms to have employees (23% of women-owned firms compared to 25% of all firms).
Annual expenditures by women-owned enterprises for just four areas – information technology ($38 billion), telecommunications ($25 billion), human resources services ($23 billion), and shipping ($17 billion) – are estimated to be $103 billion.
Between 1997 and 2004, privately-held 50% or more women-owned firms diversified into all industries with the fastest growth in construction (30% growth ), transportation, communications and public utilities (28% growth ), and agricultural serves (24% growth).
The number of women-owned firms with employees has expanded by an estimated28% between 1997 and 2004, three times the growth rate of all firms with employees.
As of 2004, almost two-thirds (63%) of all women-owned businesses are privately-held majority (51%) or more women-owned for a total of 6.7 million firms, employing 9.8 million people and generating$1.2 trillion in sales.
The top three fastest growing states, based on an average rank of 1997 to 2004 growth rates, in the number of privately-held, 50% or more women-owned firms, employment and sales are: 1) Utah; 2) Arizona; and 3) Nevada.

TOP FACTS by Category:

Women-Owned Businesses in 2004: Fact Sheets for the U.S., 50 states and District of Columbia and Top Metro Areas

Recent Facts of the Week

Growth

Finance

Technology

Styles

Access to Markets

International

Growth:

The fastest growth is in the number of 100+ employee women-owned firms. From 1997-2000, the number of 100+ employee women-owned firms grew by 44%, over 1.5 times the rate of all comparably-sized firms.
Regardless of race or ethnic background, the vast majority of women entrepreneurs have growth as a primary goal (86% African-American, 71% Asian, 80% Caucasian, 84% Latina).

Finances:

Women-owned businesses are just as financially strong and creditworthy as the average US firm, with similar performance on bill payment and similar levels of credit risk, and are just as likely to remain in business.
Women are moving into the equity capital markets, but as of 1999, receive only 9% of the institutional investment deals and 2% of the dollars. They are more likely to receive capital from the individual investors (73%) than venture capital firms (15%).
Women-owned firms with $1 million or more in revenues are as likely as their men counterparts to use business earnings and bootstrapping techniques to finance their firms, but are less likely to use commercial credit (56% vs. 71%) or equity (4% vs. 11%).

Technology:

Women owners of firms with $1 million or more in revenues are more likely than their men counterparts to embrace technology as integral to their business strategy (58% vs. 35%) and more likely to have a web site with transaction capability (56% vs. 38%).

Styles:

Eighty-six percent (86%) of women entrepreneurs say they use the same products and services at home as they do in their business.
Women and men business owners have different management styles. Women emphasize relationship building as well as gathering facts; are more likely to consult with others, including experts, employees and fellow business owners; and may take more time to make decisions.
When selecting a financial advisory, high net worth women are more likely than their men counterparts to say it is important to feel confident that the advisor is “acting in your best interest” (93% vs. 83%).
Women business owners are philanthropically active: 70% volunteer at least once per month; 31% contribute $5000 or more to charity annually; 15% give $10,000 or more.

Access to Markets:

Although 60% of Fortune 1000 companies spend $1 billion or more with outside suppliers, as of 2003, women’s business enterprises captured on average only 4% of this market share.
Women’s business enterprises that target corporate markets receive almost half their revenues (48%) from large corporate contracts.
Women-owned businesses with $1 million or more in revenues are more likely than smaller businesses owned by women to have large corporations (34% vs. 12%) and government (17% vs. 5%) as their primary clients.

International:

Internationally, women entrepreneurs; key business concerns are a blend of day-to-day business management issues – maintaining profits, finding good employees, managing cash flow – and external factors such as the economy, government business laws, access to technology, and access to capital.

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Citation

Center for Women’s Business Research. “Top Facts About Women-Owned Businesses.” Washington, DC.

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