Description
This brief detail around women owned businesses carving a new american business landscape.
WOMEN-OWNED
BUSI NESSES
CARVING A NEW AMERICAN BUSINESS LANDSCAPE
P2
TABLE
of
CONTENTS
3
Letter from David C. Chavern
and Hon. John R. McKernan Jr.
4
Executive Summary
5
Best Practices for Female
Entrepreneurs
6
PART ONE
A Changing Landscape
for Women Entrepreneurs
7
Breaking Through
the Glass Walls
8
The Rise of the
Self-Employed Worker
10
Self-Employed
Women Entrepreneurs
in the American Economy
12
The Geography of
Self-Employed Women
14
Self-Employed Women by
Industry and Occupation
22
Advancing Women’s Business
Startup, Growth, and Leadership
Capabilities
24
PART TWO
Cultivating Female
Entrepreneurs:
Examples in Action
26
National Center for Women
& Information Technology
28
Kansas City
30
Salt Lake Chamber
32
Pittsburgh
34
San Antonio
36
Conclusion
37
Endnotes
P2
Center for Women in Business
P3
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
The face of entrepreneurship is changing.
Over the last 15 years, women-owned ?rms have grown by one and a half times the rate of other
small enterprises and now account for almost 30 percent of all businesses. Additionally, one in
?ve ?rms with revenue of $1 million or more is woman-owned.
Most of us in the business community are familiar with Barbara Corcoran, Sara Blakely,
Tory Burch, and other prominent female entrepreneurs. But the growing ranks of women-
owned businesses include countless success stories that deserve attention. These include
Jenny Fulton, a laid off stockbroker who started Jenny’s Pickles; Rumia Ambrose-Burbank,
who left Electronic Data Systems to start VMS and grew it to one of the top 50 grossing
African-American owned businesses in the nation; and El Brown, who made it her goal to
empower military spouses through mobile career opportunities while also running KinderJam,
an Early Childhood Education learning program.
The Center for Women in Business is pleased to present our latest research highlighting
the growing impact of women entrepreneurs and small business owners on the American
economy. We look at how women like Fulton, Ambrose-Burbank, and Brown are reshaping the
entrepreneurial landscape. In particular, we examine the “1099 economy” and the women who
have started their own micro-enterprises either out of choice or necessity. The research also
provides powerful examples of systems and programs that encourage and support women’s
business initiatives in communities around the United States.
Though this report is a mere snapshot of what is going on in our nation, we are sure you will
agree that women are impacting how business gets done in America.
DAVID C. CHAVERN
President, Center for Women in Business;
Chief Operating Of?cer, U.S. Chamber of
Commerce
THE HONORABLE
JOHN R. McKERNAN JR.
Senior Adviser to the President and CEO,
U.S. Chamber of Commerce;
President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Foundation
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WOMEN FORGING AMERICA’ S NEW
ENTREPRENEURIAL LANDSCAPE
Executive Summary
It may seem counterintuitive, but small businesses have a huge effect on
the American economy. As more and more women join the ranks of small
business owners, that effect is only going to grow. In fact, women-owned
?rms have grown at one and a half times the rate of other small enterprises
over the last 15 years and account for nearly 30% of all businesses.
1
However, even though women are founding companies at a historic rate,
a signi?cant gender gap in employer ?rms remains.
One critical growth trend for women-owned businesses is the rise of a
“new” kind of enterprise that often employs no more than its proprietors.
These “jobless entrepreneurs” include corporate executives, technicians
and other professionals who, either by choice or necessity, have chosen to
strike out in their own micro-enterprises.
Ninety percent of women-owned businesses have no employees other
than the business owner, compared to 82% of all ?rms. Only 2% of women-
owned ?rms have 10 or more employees—trailing the 4% rate for all
businesses. This discrepancy suggests that we can and must do more to
support women in their efforts to build businesses, create jobs, and grow
our economy.
This report discusses the growing economic impact of self-employed
women entrepreneurs and small business owners on the U.S. economy. It
looks at which states have attracted the most women-owned ?rms and
seeks to share lessons from communities that have seen their rates of
female entrepreneurship ?ourish. Smart, pragmatic programs can play
an instrumental role in advancing the interests and building the business
acumen of women entrepreneurs. As successful solo enterprises led by
women grow into employer ?rms, understanding their character and
impact will contribute to creating environments that help more women
scale up their businesses and ultimately serve national and international
markets in unique and groundbreaking ways.
Our ?ndings suggest that women are most likely to be self-employed
in the western states, led by the Paci?c Northwest. Oregon ranks ?rst
in the nation with 45.4% of its self-employed workers being female and
Washington state comes in fourth. Texas ranks second in the nation, and
each of the other top 7 states are in the west—Utah, Nevada, New Mexico,
and Wyoming. In all, 11 of the top 17 states for female entrepreneurs lie in
a string of Western states from Washington to Texas. Other pockets of
higher concentrations of self-employed women include the Central Atlantic
states surrounding the nation’s capital—Maryland , Delaware, Virginia,
and West Virginia—and the southern half of the northeast—Rhode Island,
Massachusetts, and Connecticut.
2%
OF WOMEN-OWNED
FIRMS HAVE 10 OR
MORE EMPLOYEES
WOMEN-OWNED FIRMS
ACCOUNT FOR NEARLY
30%
OF ALL NEW
BUSINESSES
90%
OF WOMEN-OWNED
BUSINESSES HAVE NO
EMPLOYEES OTHER
THAN THE BUSINESS
OWNER
P4
Center for Women in Business
P5
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
BEST PRACTICES
for
FEMALE
ENTREPRENEURS
This report provides in-depth pro?les of ?ve innovative approaches that are being deployed to
create and expand women-owned small businesses, often by or in cooperation with local and regional
development organizations.
The communities and programs highlighted in this
report—the National Center for Women and Information
Technology (NCWIT) in Boulder, a multi-agency program
in Kansas City, a chamber of commerce in Salt Lake City,
Pittsburgh’s Center for Women Entrepreneurs, and the
San Antonio city government and nonpro?t partners—
are located in states and regions with varying rates of
women’s entrepreneurship. Regardless of their location,
the communities and programs featured here are
examples of engaged stakeholders in the public, private,
nonpro?t, and educational sectors coming together to
support women-owned businesses and help them grow
and thrive.
APPROACHES THAT BEST PREPARE WOMEN
ENTREPRENEURS FOR SUCCESS DO THE FOLLOWI NG:
Advocate on women’s
business issues.
Create incentives
for contracting
with women-owned
businesses.
Develop women’s
entrepreneurial leadership
skills through mentoring
opportunities and events.
Educate women business
owners in evaluating
funding sources and
accessing capital.
Provide networking
opportunities
speci?cally for women.
Offer comprehensive
training and
counseling on a variety
of business topics.
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Nothing expresses the American spirit of free enterprise
better than the image of the intrepid entrepreneur or
the agile small business. Companies like these serve our
nation as a vital force for innovation and job creation.
Small businesses, whatever size de?nition one uses, have
historically driven our economy and played a signi?cant,
continuous role in forging the economy of the future.
The small business economy today and the one taking
shape for tomorrow are in?uenced by a host of ethnic,
social, and generational changes. These shifts re?ect a
far more diverse and profoundly different set of players
than ever before and are revealed no more clearly than in
the signi?cant growth of women as entrepreneurs, small
business owners, and corporate leaders.
Women have always owned businesses. What has
changed over the last few decades is women’s increased
participation, leadership, and impact in a wider range
of businesses.
2
Women-owned ?rms have grown by one
and a half times the rate of other small enterprises over
the last 15 years and now account for almost 30% of
all businesses.
3
Since 2007, women-owned businesses
have led privately held company job growth in America,
second only to publicly traded ?rms. According to
the 2013 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report,
commissioned by American Express OPEN, women-
owned businesses added 175,000 net jobs versus a
national net decline of 569,000 jobs among all privately
held ?rms during the same time period. While the Small
Business Administration reports that there have been
signs of stabilization in the overall share of women-owned
businesses during the Great Recession, women’s overall
share of businesses owned remained “sizable and stable”
between 2007 and 2012, locking in the notable gains seen
over the last few decades.
4
A major reason for the boom in women-owned
businesses is that they are at the forefront of a new kind
of enterprise, one that often employs no more than its
proprietors. In many cases, these “solo entrepreneurs”
include corporate executives, technicians, and other
professionals who, either by choice or necessity, have
chosen to start their own microenterprises. These
entrepreneurs contribute to the “1099 economy,” a
reference to the 1099 tax form that allows individuals
to report income received throughout the year other
than the salary received from an employer. A large
portion of this bustling 1099 economy comes from the
growing ranks of boomers who are no longer willing or
able to work for a large corporation. Women make up a
signi?cant part of the solo entrepreneur movement with
an estimated 90% of women-owned ?rms having no
employees other than the business owner.
A CHANGING LANDSCAPE
for
WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
PART 1
P6
Center for Women in Business
P7
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
Although women are founding companies at a signi?cant pace, there
remains a signi?cant gender gap among employer ?rms.
Ninety percent
of women-owned ?rms have no employees other than the business owner,
compared to 82% of all ?rms, and just 2% of women-owned ?rms have
10 or more employees- trailing the 4% rate for all ?rms.
5
This discrepancy
suggests that women face greater challenges than men in scaling up their
businesses.
The gap is acutely apparent among high-growth, venture-backed
businesses and scalable, high-return startups. These high-growth ?rms are
most common in the ?elds of science, technology, and business services.
As noted by Lesa Mitchell, writing for the Kauffman Foundation, “While
women have made great strides in breaking through the proverbial ‘glass
ceiling’ to advance to high rank within corporations, few have made similar
strides in breaking out laterally—through what might be called the ‘glass
walls’ to start their own high-growth ?rms.”
6
Women at the Wheel,
7
an analysis by Dow Jones VentureSource of more than
20,000 venture-backed companies in the United States between 1997 and
2011 found that 1.3% of privately held companies have a female founder,
6.5% have a female CEO, and 20% have one or more female C-level
executives. The study also found that successful startups have more
women in senior positions and more than twice as many women in top jobs
like C-level managers, vice presidents, and board members. At successful
companies, the median share of female executives was 7.1%, compared
with 3.1% at unsuccessful ?rms.
8
For startups with ?ve or more women
employees, 61% were successful and 39% failed.
There is plenty of evidence that women are often excluded from formal
and informal networks in science, technology and business services
9
that
would otherwise provide access to managerial or technical leadership
positions. Also, women have historically had little access to traditional
forms of business capital, often having no other choice but to use credit
cards and savings to launch their ventures.
In sum, women business owners throughout history “often had to go
it alone, create parallel networks to traditionally male organizations, or
forge alliances to gain access to vital means of producing, distributing
and growing their businesses.”
10
These gender-speci?c obstacles cannot
be easily overcome without intentional and meaningful efforts by both
the public and private sectors to empower and equip women to play
a signi?cant role in revitalizing the economy. To propel women-owned
businesses beyond the microenterprise stage will take support services
and programs speci?cally geared to women.
BREAKING THROUGH
the
GLASS WALLS
1.3%
HAVE A FEMALE
FOUNDER
6.5%
HAVE A FEMALE CEO
OF MORE THAN 20,000
VENTURE-BACKED
COMPANI ES I N THE
U.S. BETWEEN 1997 & 2011
20%
HAVE ONE OR MORE
FEMALE C-LEVEL
EXECUTIVES
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THE RISE OF THE
SELF-EMPLOYED WORKER
This report focuses specifically on profiling the growing
economic phenomenon and impact of self-employed
women entrepreneurs and small business owners in
the American economy and how they are reshaping
the entrepreneurial landscape.
Women-owned self-employed enterprises are making
signi?cant contributions to our nation’s economy and
are a harbinger of what the workforce of the future
may increasingly look like. In some cases, these solo
enterprises will garner suf?cient traction in the market
to become employer ?rms, so understanding their
character and impact will contribute to creating policies
and programs to help women scale up their businesses to
serve national and international markets.
As more workers are venturing out on their own, some are
driven by a desire for ?exibility and independence, others
may be forced into self-employment out of personal or
?nancial necessity. For this report, these are individuals
considering self-employment as their primary means
of income and working for unincorporated entities.
Once incorporated, these workers are considered to be
employees of their own companies. Because of this off-
the-record status, these workers can be overlooked in
economic and community planning.
The number of self-employed workers exploded in
the early 2000s but suffered losses during the Great
Recession and housing bust. Over the last year, however,
their numbers have begun growing again. This group of
workers now numbers 10 million in 2013, up 9.1% since
2001, a growth rate 2.6 times faster than employees in
incorporated entities.
Adding momentum to this self-employment trend is
another 32 million Americans who consider themselves
self-employed on a part-time basis. These workers do
not consider self-employment to be their primary source
of income, and many are partners in income-generating
investments or ventures in the real estate, energy, and
?nance industries.
11
Others generate income in addition
to their regular jobs in ?elds as varied as personal care,
building maintenance, professional services, design,
and computer programming. This group of part-time
proprietors is up 55% since 2001 and has grown every
year over that time period.
The full-time self-employed comprise a broad array
of industries, most notably construction and specialty
contractors, personal care, private household workers,
arts and writing, and increasingly higher end services
such as law, management consulting, accounting, and
computer systems design.
The rise of the high-end 1099 economy of professional
services workers is driven partly by communications and
software improvements that have made telecommuting
easier. If trends in telecommuting continue to increase,
more people will work from home rather than ride
transit to work by 2020. In areas of the country outside
of metropolitan New York—where nearly 40% of the
nation’s transit commuters reside—telecommuters already
outnumber transit riders by 30%.
12
“If trends in telecommuting
continue to increase, more
people will work from home
rather than ride transit to
work by 2020.”
Figure 1 shows the rise in full-time self-employed workers as
compared to employees in incorporated entities.
P8
Center for Women in Business
Source: EMSI 2013.4 Class of Worker – QCEW Employees, Non-QCEW Employees, and Self-Employed
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
30%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
-5%
E MPLOYE E S
3.5%
F UL L-T I ME
S E L F- E MPLOYE D
9.1%
figure 1:
GROWTH OF EMPLOYEES AND
SELF-EMPLOYED WORKERS
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WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
SELF-EMPLOYED
WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
in the
AMERICAN ECONOMY
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s 2013
Enterprising States: Getting Down to Small Business
study highlighted the growing importance and impact of
women-owned businesses in the American economy, as
well as minority-owned and immigrant-owned businesses.
As mentioned, 90% of women-owned businesses have no
employees other than the business owner. Understanding
why there is such a prevalence of women solo
entrepreneurs is important to understanding the nuances
of entrepreneurship in local economies across the nation.
According to Jeffrey Eisenach, an economist at
George Mason University, the ranks of the independent
contractors and the self-employed have grown by
a million since 2005; 20% work in such ?elds as
management, business services, and ?nance, where
the percentage of people working for themselves rose
from 28% to 40% between 2005 and 2010. Many others
work in ?elds such as energy, mining, real estate, and
construction. As many as 10 million independent workers
make up 7.6% of the national labor force and account for
more than $626 billion in income.
13
The composition of this tapestry of independent workers
is varied, with connections across all industries. Self-
employed construction and personal care workers, who
depend on strong local economies, account for 2.7 million
workers, with another 2.9 million in business occupations
such management, sales, and ?nance. Self-employed
educators have increased by nearly 55% since 2001.
14
Today more than 10 million Americans count self-
employment as their main source of income. According to
the Census Bureau, small businesses without payroll make
up more than 70% of America’s 27 million companies, with
annual sales of $887 billion. If current trends continue,
every third worker will be self-employed or the proprietor
of his or her own business in the next decade.
15
Self-employment is often perceived to be a last ditch
effort by workers who have been laid off and unable to
?nd work again; it is often viewed as low-paying and
providing little or no bene?t for the local economy.
In stark contrast to this perception, evidence shows
that self-employment is growing and has signi?cant
positive economic impacts not only on wage and salary
employment but also on per capita income growth
and poverty reduction. Simply put, self-employment is
growing—particularly among women. The Guardian Life
Small Business Research Institute has projected that
women-owned businesses could create 5 million to 5.5
million new jobs across the United States by 2018 and
that women account for almost half of all new businesses,
generating one-third of the new jobs projected by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics
.16
According to American
Express, by 2013, nearly 7.8 million people were employed
by America’s women-owned businesses. When women-
owned businesses are combined with equally-owned
?rms (involving a woman partner), women entrepreneurs
are responsible for employing nearly 15.9 million
Americans in 2013.
17
As the boomers age into retirement, more and more late-
career women are also choosing to take the leap and start
their own business. Research by the Kauffman Foundation
says that “people aged 55 to 64 started 23.4% of all
new businesses in the US in 2012, up from 14.3% in
1996.”
18
These “encore entrepreneurs” are most often
women. Research released in 2011 by Babson College
and the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor found that
total entrepreneurial activity rates for late-career women
were higher than that for late-career men, with 10% of
women aged 55 to 64 involved in starting or running new
businesses compared with 7.5% of men.
19
According to
Babson, this has occurred despite the fact that only 26.9%
of women see entrepreneurship as a “good opportunity”
at this stage in their careers, compared to 33.4% of men.
Even with this gap in perceived opportunity, more than
half of women aged 55 to 64 feel that they have the
capability for entrepreneurship, representing a vast pool
of experienced, late-career female professionals who may
be looking to start a business given the right opportunity
and support.
Consequently, it makes a lot of sense for the economic
development community at the local, state, regional, and
national levels to pay attention to this new workforce.
According to Babson, this has occurred despite the
fact that only 26.9% of women see entrepreneurship
as a “good opportunity” at this stage in their careers,
compared to 33.4% of men. Even with this gap in
perceived opportunity, more than half of women
aged 55 to 64 feel that they have the capability
for entrepreneurship, representing a vast pool of
experienced, late-career female professionals who may
be looking to start a business given the right opportunity
and support.
P10 P10
Center for Women in Business
THE RANKS OF THE I NDEPENDENT
CONTRACTORS AND THE
SELF-EMPLOYED HAS GROWN BY
1,000,000
SINCE 2005
SELF-EMPLOYED EDUCATORS HAVE
I NCREASED BY NEARLY
55%
SINCE 2001
2.7 MILLION
WORK I N CONSTRUCTI ON AND
PERSONAL CARE
WITH ANNUAL SALES OF
$887 BILLION
AND ACCOUNT FOR OVER
$626 BILLION
IN INCOME
WHERE THE PERCENTAGE OF
PEOPLE WORKI NG FOR
THEMSELVES ROSE FROM
28%
TO
40%
BETWEEN 2005 AND 2010
2.9 MILLION
WORK I N MANAGEMENT, SALES,
AND FI NANCE.
20%
WORK I N
MANAGEMENT,
BUSI NESS
SERVI CES,
AND FI NANCE
10 MILLION
WORK I N FI ELDS SUCH AS ENERGY,
MI NI NG, REAL ESTATE, AND
CONSTRUCTI ON
THEY
CONSTITUTE
OVER
76%
OF THE NATI ONAL
LABOR FORCE
I NDEPENDENT
CONTRACTORS
MAKE UP
70%
OF AMERI CA’ S
27 MI LLI ON
COMPANI ES
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WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
1 Oregon 7% 45.4%
2 Texas 11% 44.5%
3 Utah 11% 44.5%
4 Washington 10% 44.4%
5 Nevada 26% 43.7%
6 New Mexico 3% 43.3%
7 Wyoming (4%) 43.2%
8 Maryland 9% 43.1%
9 Delaware (6%) 42.1%
10 Colorado 8% 41.9%
11 Arizona 25% 41.3%
12 Alaska (8%) 41.2%
13 Virginia 9% 41.0%
14 Rhode Island (1%) 40.5%
15 California 15% 40.4%
16 Massachusetts 11% 40.3%
17 Idaho 5% 40.2%
18 West Virginia (16%) 40.2%
19 Hawaii 7% 39.8%
20 Florida 21% 39.8%
21 New York 8% 39.4%
22 Michigan 3% 38.8%
23 Connecticut 9% 38.5%
? National Average 9% 38.2%
24 North Carolina 10% 38.0%
25 New Jersey 9% 37.9%
26 Illinois 7% 37.9%
27 Minnesota (1%) 37.8%
28 Indiana 0% 36.9%
29 Ohio (1%) 36.8%
30 Kansas 7% 36.6%
31 South Carolina 8% 36.3%
32 Georgia 10% 36.2%
33 Missouri 5% 36.1%
34 Montana (3%) 36.1%
35 Vermont 0% 35.8%
36 Tennessee 25% 35.8%
37 Iowa 2% 35.4%
38 Oklahoma (4%) 35.1%
39 Wisconsin 2% 35.0%
40 New Hampshire 12% 35.0%
41 Maine (2%) 34.8%
42 Nebraska (8%) 34.6%
43 Pennsylvania 3% 33.9%
44 Kentucky (10%) 33.7%
45 Alabama 5% 33.6%
46 South Dakota 9% 32.9%
47 Louisiana 7% 31.4%
48 Mississippi (5%) 31.2%
49 Arkansas (5%) 30.6%
50 North Dakota 4% 27.9%
figure 2:
Share of Female Self-Employed
Workers by State
As of 2013, most self-employed workers are men.
On average across the nation, women make up 38%
of workers considering self-employment to be their
main source of income. There are no states where
women make up 50% of the full-time self-employed
workforce, but women are approaching a balance in
a handful of western states where 45% of the self-
employed are women.
Women are most likely to be self-employed in
the Western states, led by the Paci?c Northwest.
Oregon ranks ?rst in the nation with 45.4% of its
self-employed workers being female and Washington
state comes in fourth. Although Texas ranks second
in the nation, the other top 7 states for self-employed
women are in the West: Utah, Nevada, New Mexico,
and Wyoming. In all, 11 of the top 17 states for female
entrepreneurs lie in a string of Western states from
Washington state to Texas.
Other pockets of high concentrations of self-
employed women include the Central Atlantic states
surrounding the nation’s capital—Maryland, Delaware,
Virginia, and West Virginia—and the southern half
of the Northeast: Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and
Connecticut. At 39.8% female, Florida ranks 20th
and is the only state in the Southeast with an above
average share of female self-employed.
More than half of women aged 55 to 64 feel that they
have the capability for entrepreneurship, representing
a vast pool of experienced, late-career female
professionals who may be looking to start a business
given the right opportunity and support.
20
Consequently, it makes a lot of sense for the
economic development community at the local, state,
regional, and national levels to pay attention to this
new workforce.
FEMALE % OF
SELF-EMPLOYED
RANK STATE
2001–2013 % CHANGE I N
TOTAL SELF-EMPLOYED
Figure 2 shows a wide variation in the concentration of
female self-employed workers among states and a 17 point
difference between Oregon, ranked ?rst, and North Dakota,
ranked last.
Figure 3 shows the geographic makeup of female
self-employed.
THE GEOGRAPHY
of
SELF-EMPLOYED
WOMEN
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Center for Women in Business
P13
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
figure 3:
SHARE OF FULL-TIME SELF-EMPLOYED
WORKERS WHO ARE FEMALE, 2013
The states with the lowest share of female self-employed are in the central states, particularly the Upper
Great Plains. North Dakota ranks 50th with less than 28% of its self-employed workers being female; South
Dakota ranks 46th. The southeast region also has lower numbers of self-employed women, with Kentucky,
Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas ranking 44th or lower.
HIGHER THAN AVERAGE
< 39.8
< 40.4
< 41.3
LOWER THAN AVERAGE
< 38.2
< 36.8
< 36.1
< 43.2
< 44.5
> or = 44.5
< 35
< 33.7
< 30.6
THE GEOGRAPHY
of
SELF-EMPLOYED
WOMEN
P13
1 Nebraska (13%) 93.3%
2 North Dakota (10%) 92.5%
3 Wyoming 0% 90.5%
4 Minnesota (15%) 86.6%
5 Virginia 2% 85.9%
? Nation 10% 76.7%
46 Alabama 15% 69.6%
47 South Dakota 14% 67.8%
48 New Jersey 15% 67.7%
49 Hawaii (7%) 66.6%
50 Pennsylvania 12% 65.2%
1 Connecticut 31% 75.7%
2 Indiana 6% 74.8%
3 Washington 13% 74.4%
4 Texas 27% 74.2%
5 Utah 27% 74.2%
? Nation 17% 68.2%
46 Mississippi (9%) 61.7%
47 New Hampshire (4%) 61.3%
48 Vermont (1%) 59.3%
49 North Dakota 31% 56.5%
50 Illinois 21% 52.7%
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SELF-EMPLOYED WOMEN BY
INDUSTRY AND OCCUPATION
Figure 4 illustrates how the variation between states
is even more acute at the speci?c industry level.
figure 4:
TOP AND BOTTOM STATES FOR FEMALE
SELF-EMPLOYED WORKERS BY I NDUSTRY
FEMALE % OF
SELF-EMPLOYED
FEMALE % OF
SELF-EMPLOYED
RANK
RANK
STATE
STATE
2001–2013 % CHANGE I N
TOTAL SELF-EMPLOYED
2001–2013 % CHANGE I N
TOTAL SELF-EMPLOYED
HEALTH CARE AND SOCIAL ASSISTANCE
OTHER SERVICES
P14
Center for Women in Business
1 Alaska (13%) 66.3%
2 Delaware 4% 63.7%
3 New Mexico (8%) 60.5%
4 West Virginia (11%) 58.8%
5 Idaho 29% 58.3%
? Nation (12%) 46.3%
46 North Carolina (9%) 42.3%
47 Kentucky (11%) 42.2%
48 New Jersey (27%) 41.3%
49 Arkansas 13% 38.6%
50 New York 9% 36.4%
1 Iowa 18% 63.1%
2 West Virginia (7%) 58%
3 Nebraska 23% 57.1%
4 New Mexico (54%) 52.1%
5 Rhode Island (19%) 50.9%
? Nation 24% 34.6%
46 Arizona (2%) 23.1%
47 South Carolina (26%) 21.2%
48 Nevada 85% 21%
49 Louisiana (12%) 18.2%
50 Kansas (16%) 14.2%
1 Wyoming 10% 46%
2 Colorado 24% 42.6%
3 Delaware (28%) 41.8%
4 Idaho 7% 41.6%
5 Maine 28% 41%
? Nation 14% 35.7%
46 Indiana 17% 29.7%
47 Alabama 8% 29.5%
48 Mississippi 8% 28.4%
49 North Dakota 3% 26.7%
50 Vermont (1%) 25.6%
P15
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
FEMALE % OF
SELF-EMPLOYED
FEMALE % OF
SELF-EMPLOYED
FEMALE % OF
SELF-EMPLOYED
RANK
RANK
RANK
STATE
STATE
STATE
2001–2013 % CHANGE I N
TOTAL SELF-EMPLOYED
2001–2013 % CHANGE I N
TOTAL SELF-EMPLOYED
2001–2013 % CHANGE I N
TOTAL SELF-EMPLOYED
RETAIL
COMMUNICATION
PROFESSIONAL, TECHNICAL,
AND BUSINESS SERVICES
P15
OTHER SERVI CES
The “other services” sector contains the largest segment
of female self-employed workers, numbering nearly
1.1 million. This sector contains the large personal care
industry along with workers employed by households and
many other miscellaneous personal care services. More
than 68% of the self-employed workers in this sector are
women. Connecticut leads the way in this sector with
self-employed women making up 75% of workers in this
category, while Illinois is last with just more than 50%.
HEALTH CARE AND SOCI AL
ASSI STANCE
Nebraska and North Dakota are near the bottom overall
in the share of self-employed women; yet in each of
these states women dominate self-employed health care
workers at more than 90%. South Dakota ranks 47th,
with women making up more than two-thirds of its self-
employed health care industry.
PROFESSI ONAL, TECHNI CAL,
AND BUSI NESS SERVI CES
The professional, technical, and business services sector
is an important high-wage group of self-employment
industries, containing legal and accounting, architecture
and design, research and development, and computer
and information technology services. Just 36% of the
self-employed in these sectors are female, but there is
a strong group of female professional services workers
in the Mountain West states of Wyoming, Colorado,
and Idaho. In these states, self-employed women in
professional services comprise more than 40%.
RETAI L
The retail industry is in transition. Retail offers self-
employment to about 650,000 Americans, of which
some 47% are women. Self-employed women dominate
a number of retail sectors, including direct sales; ?orists;
clothing; stationary and gifts; used merchandise; health
and personal care; jewelry, luggage, and leather goods;
and electronic shopping and mail order. Female self-
employed retailers are most common in Alaska, where
they make up 66% of overall self-employed retailers and
least common in New York, where they comprise 36%.
COMMUNI CATI ON
Self-employment in the communication sector is up
24% since 2001. This broad sector covers all areas of
publishing—including news, books, periodicals, and the
Internet—along with broadcast journalism, ?lm making,
software publishing, and telecommunications. There are
about 6,500 self-employed Internet publishers in the
nation, averaging about $45,000 in earnings per year.
Thirty-?ve percent of these web publishers are women.
Slightly less than half of the nation’s wage and salary
employees are women, yet women comprise just 38% of
full-time self-employed workers. This translates to a self-
employment rate of 8% for men and 5.2% for women. The
share of self-employed women varies across industries,
with women dominating self-employed health care and
social assistance workers, education, and the catch-all
category of other services, which includes personal care
and those working for private households. Women make
up relatively few of the nation’s self-employed workers
in construction; mining, quarrying, and oil and gas
extraction; and transportation and warehousing.
49.6%
SLI GHTLY
LESS THAN
HALF OF THE
NATI ON’ S WAGE
AND SALARY
EMPLOYEES ARE
WOMEN
WOMEN
COMPRI SE JUST
38%
OF FULL-TI ME
SELF-EMPLOYED
WORKERS.
THE SHARE OF SELF-EMPLOYED WOMEN
VARI ES ACROSS I NDUSTRI ES:
HEALTH CARE AND
SOCI AL ASSI STANCE
WORKERS
EDUCATI ON
OTHER SERVI CES
CONSTRUCTI ON
MI NI NG, QUARRYI NG,
OI L, AND GAS
EXTRACTI ON
TRANSPORTATI ON
AND WAREHOUSI NG
77%
69%
68%
6%
8%
9%
YET
P16 P16
Center for Women in Business
figure 5:
TOP AND BOTTOM STATES FOR FEMALE
SELF-EMPLOYED WORKERS BY I NDUSTRY
Other Services (except Public Administration) 1,575,469 17% $15,677 1,074,003 68%
Health Care and Social Assistance 873,356 0% $39,161 670,046 77%
Professional, Technical, and Business Services 1,147,475 14% $39,082 409,208 36%
Administrative, Support, Waste Management, 943,125 46% $17,941 313,853 33%
and Remediation Services
Retail 649,591 (12%) $23,076 301,062 46%
Real Estate, Rental, and Leasing 437,248 8% $28,616 201,717 46%
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation 425,619 25% $18,775 184,635 43%
Private Educational Services 235,265 73% $17,601 161,552 69%
Construction 1,814,218 9% $21,240 103,985 6%
Accommodation and Food Services 216,089 12% $20,820 92,843 43%
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting 541,004 (19%) $24,168 89,548 17%
Finance and Insurance 253,650 (24%) $43,319 56,936 22%
Manufacturing 205,384 (23%) $37,420 50,824 25%
Information 130,476 24% $31,473 45,193 35%
Transportation and Warehousing 379,418 18% $29,099 34,444 9%
Wholesale Trade 159,637 (21%) $35,082 26,940 17%
Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction 15,562 26% $46,618 1,240 8%
Total 10,002,586 9% $25,649 3,818,030 38%
Source: EMSI 2013.4 Class of Worker –Self-Employed Note: The government, utilities, and management of companies industry sectors
contain no full-time self-employed workers. These sectors are excluded from the table.
2013 WAGES SALARI ES &
PROPRI ETOR EARNI NGS
I NDUSTRY
2013 SELF-EMPLOYED
WORKERS
2001-2013
CHANGE
FEMALE SELF-
EMPLOYED
FEMALE
HEALTH CARE
AND SOCI AL
ASSI STANCE
EDUCATI ON CONSTRUCTI ON MI NI NG, QUARRYI NG,
OI L, AND GAS
EXTRACTI ON
77% 69% 6% 8%
Figure 5 shows female self-employed workers broken down by industry. The government, utilities, and company management
industry sectors contain no full-time self-employed workers. These sectors are excluded from the table.
P17
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
P17
DESCRI PTI ON
FEMALE
WORKERS
%
FEMALE
FEMALE
SELF-EMPLOYED
% FEMALE
FEMALE SELF-
EMPLOYMENT
RATE
2001-2013
GROWTH OF
SELF-EMPLOYED
MEDI AN
HOURLY
EARNI NGS
Personal Appearance
Workers
434,822 89% 376,004 89% 46.4% 30% $10.93
Artists and Design
Workers
245,152 48% 152,559 60% 38.4% 2% $21.68
Media and
Communication
Equipment Workers
56,603 26% 31,047 32% 35.4% 38% $19.73
Other Sales and Related
Workers
484,394 56% 230,698 58% 32.3% 3% $17.21
Supervisors of Personal
Care and Service
Workers
96,221 54% 38,415 74% 28.5% 18% $17.80
Animal Care and Service
Workers
122,268 69% 42,007 62% 25.6% 30% $9.69
Media and
Communication Workers
315,781 55% 92,854 55% 22.7% 34% $24.40
Other Personal Care and
Service Workers
2,225,303 78% 643,112 91% 22.4% 13% $10.22
Social Scientists and
Related Workers
135,589 56% 38,989 66% 22.3% 22% $33.76
Building Cleaning and
Pest Control Workers
1,912,336 53% 467,649 80% 19.6% 26% $10.37
Construction Trades
Workers
197,270 5% 46,233 4% 19.0% 16% $19.12
Other Management
Occupations
1,014,421 46% 216,849 20% 17.6% (3%) $39.75
Entertainers and
Performers, Sports and
Related Workers
264,606 44% 53,973 30% 16.9% 32% $20.33
Grounds Maintenance
Workers
155,891 16% 28,218 8% 15.3% 69% $11.61
Supervisors of Sales
Workerst
673,748 45% 118,278 32% 14.9% (15%) $20.40
figure 6:
U. S. SELF-EMPLOYED WORKERS BY OCCUPATION CATEGORY
The highest median hourly
earnings go to lawyers,
judges, and related
workers.
The lowest median hourly
earnings go to animal care
and service workers.
Between 200–2013 self-
employment has risen
highest with grounds
maintenance workers.
$53.
49
$9.
69
69%
Figure 6 shows U.S. self-employed workers by occupation. Occupations are listed from the highest rate
of female self-employment to the lowest.
P18
Center for Women in Business
P18
DESCRI PTI ON
FEMALE
WORKERS
%
FEMALE
FEMALE
SELF-EMPLOYED
% FEMALE
FEMALE SELF-
EMPLOYMENT
RATE
2001-2013
GROWTH OF
SELF-EMPLOYED
MEDI AN
HOURLY
EARNI NGS
Supervisors of Building
and Grounds Cleaning
and Maintenance
Workers
93,706 34% 16,232 18% 14.8% 31% $18.16
Other Teachers and
Instructors
825,724 69% 127,902 72% 13.4% 62% $15.99
Lawyers, Judges, and
Related Workers
260,066 40% 35,689 19% 12.1% 0% $53.49
Supervisors of
Construction and
Extraction Workers
32,070 7% 4,231 3% 11.7% (30%) $28.70
Architects, Surveyors,
and Cartographers
33,140 21% 4,024 13% 10.8% (11%) $31.96
Textile, Apparel, and
Furnishings Workers
367,646 64% 44,071 57% 10.7% (8%) $10.85
Legal Support Workers 297,952 75% 23,649 75% 7.4% 8% $22.67
Tour and Travel Guides 19,634 53% 1,414 16% 6.7% 24% $11.89
Other Health Care
Support Occupations
1,258,035 88% 73,017 90% 5.5% 26% $14.82
Financial Specialists 1,319,769 52% 71,603 32% 5.1% (12%) $30.30
Sales Representatives,
Services
866,005 45% 44,434 25% 4.9% (9%) $25.36
Business Operations
Specialists
2,201,587 52% 86,037 34% 3.8% 40% $30.13
Motor Vehicle Operators 541,032 15% 19,825 6% 3.5% 13% $15.50
Forest, Conservation,
and Logging Workers
4,180 8% 152 1% 3.5% (21%) $14.92
Advertising, Marketing,
Promotions, Public
Relations, and Sales
Managers
257,069 41% 8,142 31% 3.1% 35% $51.75
Source: EMSI 2013.4 Class of Worker –Self-Employed
Jobs in personal
appearance boast the
highest percentage of
female workers.
Construction trades have
the lowest percentage
of female workers.
Between 2001–2013 self-
employment has grown
the least with supervisors
of construction and
extraction workers.
89% 5% –30%
P19
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
P19
OCCUPATI ON 2001-2013 % CHANGE MEDI AN HOURLY EARNI NGS FEMALE SELF-EMPLOYED FEMALE %
Management
Analysts
54% $27.99 51,449 32%
Accountants and
Auditors
(10%) $26.42 42,651 40%
Psychologists 22% $32.81 37,321 68%
Lawyers and
Judicial Law Clerks
0% $37.55 35,625 19%
Therapists 37% $29.60 33,867 83%
Counselors 61% $20.61 28,104 79%
Insurance Sales
Agents
7% $21.16 23,587 23%
Registered Nurses 3% $20.63 17,513 89%
Miscellaneous Legal
Support Workers
18% $23.84 16,704 80%
Physicians and
Surgeons
(7%) $69.65 12,334 17%
Software
Developers and
Programmers
37% $23.28 12,179 19%
Social Workers 35% $21.09 11,744 88%
Tax Examiners,
Collectors and
Preparers, and
Revenue Agents
15% $21.33 10,707 41%
Sales
Representatives,
Wholesale and
Manufacturing
(22%) $20.90 9,764 15%
Market Research
Analysts and
Marketing
Specialists
82% $26.33 9,586 47%
figure 7:
HIGH-WAGE SELF-EMPLOYED OCCUPATION CATEGORIES
Source: EMSI 2013.4 Class of Worker–Self-Employed
Figure 7 lists occupations paying more than $20 per hour with the largest numbers of female
self-employed workers.
P20 P20
Center for Women in Business
Eighty-nine percent of the nation’s personal
appearance workers are women, and 46.4% are self-
employed, the highest female self-employment rate of
all the occupations included in this report. The female
self-employment rate is also high among art and design
workers (38.4%), media and communication equipment
workers (35.4%), and other sales and related workers
(32.3%).
Personal care and health care work cannot be
outsourced, and continued population growth across
the nation is likely to drive demand for this type of
work, including for the self-employed. However, self-
employment is a growing trend in many higher-wage
occupations as well.
Self-employed women dominate many occupations
involving person-person work, such as psychologists,
therapists, counselors, nurses, and social workers. Yet
many other self-employed occupation groups remain
heavily male, particularly business services, physicians,
and software developers.
89%
OF THE
NATI ON’ S
PERSONAL
APPEARANCE
WORKERS ARE
WOMEN
46.4%
OF FEMALE
PERSONAL
APPEARANCE
WORKERS ARE
SELF-EMPLOYED
HI GHEST FEMALE SELF-EMPLOYMENT RATES:
PERSONAL
APPEARANCE
ART AND DESI GN
MEDI A AND
COMMUNI CATI ON
EQUI PMENT
OTHER SALES
AND RELATED
46.4%
38.4%
35.4%
32.3%
P21 P21
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
P22
ADVANCING WOMEN’ S BUSINESS
STARTUP, GROWTH, AND
LEADERSHIP CAPABILITIES
Taking this information into account is imperative when it
comes to creating programs that support America’ s women
entrepreneurs and small business owners.
The following six innovative policy and program
approaches that are being deployed successfully to
create and expand women-owned small businesses,
often by or in cooperation with local and regional
development organizations. In most cases, the
programs that are highlighted employ one or more of
the following six best practices:
ADVOCACY ON WOMEN’ S
BUSI NESS I SSUES
Programs raise awareness of government policy or
regulatory roadblocks and barriers, assist in capital
access, address business issues of particular concern to
women, and share best practices for advancing women’s
businesses.
• The National Association of Women Business Owners
(NAWBO) builds strategic alliances, coalitions, and
af?liations to transform public policy and in?uence
opinion makers.
• The National Women’s Business Council published the
“Best Practices in Supporting Women’s Entrepreneurship:
A Compendium of Public and Private Sector
Organizations and Initiatives.
21
• The National Center for Women & Information
Technology (NCWIT) in Boulder, Colorado, raises
awareness about the need for and value of more women
in computing and IT while promoting IT careers to female
high school students.
• San Antonio’s city government includes women
business owners on its Small Business Advisory
Committee, ensuring that their voice is heard on issues
impacting small business and female entrepreneurs
in the city.
NETWORKI NG
Programs provide online exchanges, face-to-face
meetings, or event-based programs to help women build
informal and formal networks with other businesses.
These networks help women ?nd potential employers or
employees and contracting opportunities.
• The Women’s Business Enterprise Council (WBENC)
provides formal MatchMaker programs connecting
Corporate Members to WBENC-Certi?ed Women’s
Business Enterprises (WBEs). These programs are
designed to connect the two groups to speci?cally
discuss potential business and sourcing opportunities.
• The Salt Lake Chamber Women’s Business Center
works with the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce
to connect new and aspiring female entrepreneurs
to networking opportunities with existing chamber
members, providing ?edgling entrepreneurs with access
to potential clients, partners, and mentors.
• Kansas City’s Athena League and Central Exchange
offer networking opportunities for female entrepreneurs
and professionals at all stages of their careers.
BUSI NESS MANAGEMENT
ASSI STANCE AND SUPPORT
Programs include comprehensive training and counseling
on a variety of topics, including strategic planning, business
plan assistance and competitions, and access to interns.
• The Women’s Business Centers (WBCs) represent
a national network of nearly 100 educational centers
throughout the United States and its territories, which
help women in starting and growing small businesses.
WBCs seek to level the playing ?eld for women
entrepreneurs, who face unique obstacles in the
business world.
Six best practices for creating female entrepreneurship programs:
P22
Center for Women in Business
P23
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
• Pittsburgh’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Center at
Chatham University offers women business owners
access to informal board guidance and mentoring
through its “MyBoard” program. Consultations include
business planning, ?nancial counseling, technology and
operational support, and other guidance tailored to the
needs of the entrepreneur.
• Business Empowerment San Antonio provides women
interested in starting or growing a business with access to
support services and classes, including a “Small Business
Education Boot Camp” designed to teach entrepreneurs
the basics of running a business.
ACCESS TO CONTRACTS
Programs include incentives for contracting with women,
including set-asides and preference criteria.
• The federal government set a goal in 1994 of awarding
at least 5% of the total value of eligible contracts to
women-owned businesses.
22
• Large companies offer set-aside opportunities, partially
because of their own commitment to creating diversity in
the marketplace and their employment base. Sometimes,
these companies are federal or state contractors
mandated by government agencies to allocate certain
amounts of business to minority- or women-owned ?rms.
• The Pittsburgh metro area’s Allegheny County has set
goals for contracts awarded to minority- and women-
owned businesses, and requests that contractors make
good-faith efforts to award contracts to such businesses.
• San Antonio and Bexar County, Texas, have committed
to contracting with women-owned businesses in
procurement and service contracts.
LEADERSHI P DEVELOPMENT
AND MENTORI NG
Programs focus on developing women’s entrepreneurial
leadership skills through events that encourage networking
and sharing of innovative strategies. These types of
programs help women advance their personal and
professional leadership and improve business performance.
• The Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership
at Babson College in the Boston Metro area focuses
on “investigating, educating, and celebrating women
entrepreneurial leaders of all kinds.” The center hopes
to be a leader in women’s entrepreneurial research and
offers programs designed to help aspiring and new
female entrepreneurs, including the Women Innovating
Now Lab (WIN Lab). WIN Lab gives select students
access to entrepreneurship training and mentoring
needed to launch entrepreneurial ventures upon
graduation.
• Kansas City’s Central Exchange focuses on providing
female professionals with leadership training and
professional development opportunities.
ACCESS TO CAPI TAL
Programs educate and support women business owners in
accessing capital, including instruction on understanding
and evaluating funding sources and creating a strong
case for ?nancing or equity capital. Programs also include
?nancing or investment funds speci?cally for women-
owned businesses.
• Women Accessing Capital is a national program
designed to educate women business owners on all steps
of accessing capital. Courses provide the necessary tools
to competitively seek the appropriate type of funding,
obtain capital, and manage a ?nanced ?rm.
• OneKC for Women in Kansas City provides women-
owned businesses access to angel investment networks
focused on funding women-led startups.
• San Antonio’s Accion Texas works to provide small
businesses, including women-owned small businesses,
with access to microlending services and capital support
that they may not otherwise be able to ?nd.
• The Women’s Venture Capital Fund capitalizes on
the expanding pipeline of women entrepreneurs leading
gender diverse teams, helping them create capital
ef?cient, high-growth companies in digital media and
sustainable products and services.
Six best practices for creating female entrepreneurship programs:
Advocacy
on Women’s
Business Issues
Business
Management
Assistance and
Support
Leadership
Development
and Mentoring
Networking Access to
Contracts
Access
to Capital
P23
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
P24
CULTIVATING FEMALE
ENTREPRENEURS:
EXAMPLES
in
ACTION
Many local, state, and national agencies work to improve the environment
for women entrepreneurs and business owners. This report features five
examples of efforts under way to assist women looking to start a business:
PART 2
NCWIT is working nationally to improve
educational, career, and entrepreneurial
opportunities for women in science and
technology.
The communities and programs highlighted, located
in states and regions with varying rates of women’s
entrepreneurship, have either already experienced
success in supporting women’s entrepreneurship
and are looking to build on existing strengths or are
working to increase women’s entrepreneurship and
leadership in particular communities and industries
needing improvement. Regardless of their location, the
communities and programs featured in this report are
examples of engaged stakeholders in the public, private,
nonpro?t, and educational sectors coming together to
support women-owned businesses and to help them
grow and thrive.
1
P24
Center for Women in Business
P25
Pittsburgh’s Center for Women Entrepreneurs is bringing
together foundation and educational assets to support
the development of new women entrepreneurs.
4
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
A multiagency program in Kansas City is working to
support local female entrepreneurs.
2
A strong local chamber of commerce in Salt Lake City
leads a collaborative to help women business owners.
3
City government and nonpro?t sector partners in San
Antonio are committed to building a “culture of business”
to support women’s entrepreneurship.
5
P25
P26
STRENGTHENI NG THE EDUCATI ONAL
PI PELI NE WI TH TOMORROW’ S
FEMALE TECHNOLOGI STS
Projected to gain nearly 1.4 million jobs through 2020,
information technology is one of the fastest-growing
sectors of the U.S. economy. With advanced technologies
in ever-increasing demand, the IT industry is one of
the key sources of innovation and ideas behind high-
growth, entrepreneurial companies. While demand for
professionals to ?ll computing and technology positions
is high, women remain an “untapped talent pool,”
23
receiving only 18% of computing-related bachelor’s
degrees in the United States.
The National Center for Women & Information
Technology (NCWIT) was founded in 2004 through
a grant from the National Science Foundation and
partnerships with industry and academic sector
stakeholders. Comprised of over 500 corporations,
academic institutions, government agencies, and non-
pro?ts, NCWIT is a community of “change leaders” taking
action to more effectively recruit, retain, and advance
women in technology.
Starting at the middle and high school level, NCWIT
identi?es talented young women interested in pursuing a
career in computing and technology, giving them access
to networking and educational opportunities to keep
them on a path toward educational success. The NCWIT
Aspirations in Computing initiative (aspirations.org),
launched in 2007, provides encouragement, visibility, and
a sense of community to thousands of young women as
they strive to enter a largely male-dominated ?eld. By
connecting these talented young women through meet-
ups and gatherings, and providing them with internships,
leadership, and scholarship opportunities, the Aspirations
in Computing initiative expands and strengthens the
pipeline with young women interested in pursuing
degrees in computing and technology.
NCWIT also works with colleges and universities through
its active Extension Services program,
24
helping
undergraduate programs in computing and technology
build “capacity for reaching gender parity.” Extension
Services consultants work with computing faculty
to reform departmental culture, attract more female
students, and implement practices to retain them. Since
2008, more than 50 colleges and universities have taken
part in the program, with many making solid progress
towards creating a more inclusive environment.
FROM EDUCATI ON TO
ENTREPRENEURS
Bringing women into college computing and technology
programs also spurs entrepreneurship and innovation.
NCWIT’s efforts acknowledge that “in order to get
women into technology startups, ?rst we have to get
them into college technology programs.” By establishing
an increased supply of female technology graduates
from college programs around the nation, NCWIT and
its members create a female talent pool for technology
startups. While NCWIT is not an incubator, it is “trying
to create a pipeline of women with experience in tech
startups,” by raising the visibility of entrepreneurial job
paths and the bene?ts of working in startups.
25
NATIONAL CENTER FOR WOMEN &
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Information technology is
projected to gain nearly 1.4
million jobs through 2020.
NCWIT works to identify talented
young women and give them
access to networking and
educational opportunities.
The center’s Entrepreneurial
Alliance includes 75 companies
focused on placing women in
tech jobs, and positioning them
to succeed in their careers.
2020
P26
Center for Women in Business
P27
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
As the backbone of this entrepreneurial focus, NCWIT created its
Entrepreneurial Alliance. The Alliance, comprising more than 90 companies,
encourages progressive startup technology companies to include women in
their ?rst technical and computing hires. This increases the possibility of an
inclusive culture from the beginning and helps young companies bene?t from
the diverse technical contributions of women as collaborators and creators
of new technology. Additionally, women hired by startups are able to gain
invaluable experience in the process of building a new company, creating a
pool of women with the ability and innovative spirit needed to launch their own
companies.
The Entrepreneurial Alliance also works with venture capitalists to address
the issues that women entrepreneurs have in gaining access to venture capital
for their companies. Many venture capital networks, largely run and invested
in by men, may overlook women-launched companies, creating a challenging
situation for female technology entrepreneurs. By bringing venture capitalists
and female investors into the network at an early stage, NCWIT works to cut
down on barriers to funding as women in technology graduate from working
for startups to creating their own.
Building awareness is also a major focus of NCWIT’s efforts. The initiative
provides research and data that makes clear the value women and greater
diversity can bring to computing and information technology ?elds. As part of
this effort, NCWIT provides organizations with free tools designed to create
change within their organization, supporting their efforts to recruit, retain, and
advance more women in technical ?elds.
NCWIT also raises the pro?le of notable female innovators and entrepreneurs
through its Entrepreneurial Heroes series
26
and Symons Innovator Award.
Sponsored by NCWIT’s Entrepreneurial Alliance, NCWIT Heroes is a series
of podcasts in which successful, creative, and technical women discuss how
they ?rst got involved with technology, why they chose to be entrepreneurs,
and what advice they would give to young people interested in IT or
entrepreneurship. The Symons Innovator Award, named in honor of the late
serial-technology entrepreneur Jeanette Symons, recognizes an NCWIT Hero
who has successfully built their own successful IT businesses, increasing
“awareness about the importance of women’s participation in IT innovation and
business.”
27
As part of its efforts to increase women’s involvement in computing,
particularly in business settings, NCWIT and the Entrepreneurial Alliance
started a Pacesetters Program. This initiative brings together entrepreneurs,
business leaders, and educators to work together across corporate and
academic boundaries, while committing to increase their organization’s number
of technical women at an accelerated pace.
28
Through this collaboration,
the program identi?es best practice models to accelerate women’s entry to
computing and technical ?elds, sharing these practices and strategies with
companies and institutions interested in setting action goals for hiring and
educating female technologists. The program seeks to bring net new women
into computing, educating and hiring technical women who otherwise might
not have pursued or remained in computing careers,
29
and creating a larger
universe of highly educated, entrepreneurial female technologists.
AN ROI FOR DI VERSI TY
According to research compiled by NCWIT, companies that embrace a
more diverse workforce enjoy a return on investment
30
by adopting a more
inclusive hiring culture. Teams made up of men and women are more open to
experimentation and knowledge sharing, perform tasks more effectively, and
often outperform less diverse teams.
31
With women making up only 25% of
the professional IT workforce (compared with 57% of the overall professional
workforce), there is much ground to be made up, but much potential upside for
companies willing to make the effort to embrace diversity.
MORE THAN
50
UNIVERSITIES AND
COLLEGES HAVE
TAKEN PART IN
NCWIT’ S EXTENSION
SERVICES PROGRAM
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY IS
PROJECTED TO GAIN
NEARLY
1.4
MILLION JOBS
THROUGH 2020
WOMEN MAKE UP ONLY
25%
OF THE
PROFESSIONAL IT
WORKFORCE
P27
P28
DEVELOPI NG NETWORKS, BUI LDI NG
PARTNERSHI PS, AND WORKI NG
COLLABORATI VELY
The Kansas City area has a long tradition of embracing
innovative approaches to entrepreneurship development.
As the home of the Kauffman Foundation, one of the
nation’s largest private foundations and its explicit focus
on entrepreneurship and education, the Kansas City
metropolitan area serves as a proving ground for new
ideas, approaches, and pilot programs aimed at spurring
business creation and bolstering entrepreneurial activity.
Kansas City’s drive to jump-start women’s
entrepreneurship is no exception, with the metropolitan
area boasting several innovative and collaborative
programs and partnerships explicitly designed to help
women start and grow businesses and create jobs. The
region’s strong support structures have created an
environment where the “entrepreneur space is being
seeded and invested in by many groups,”
32
providing
multiple points of network access for aspiring female
entrepreneurs and a wide array of opportunities for
partnership and interagency collaboration.
Beyond foundational champions, the city and business
community in the Kansas City metro area embrace
entrepreneurship and women-owned businesses as tools
for increasing regional economic vitality. The Kansas
City Chamber has set making Kansas City “America’s
Most Entrepreneurial City” as one of its “Big 5” goals
for economic development. As part of this effort, local
business leaders have committed to hiring project
leadership and partnering with the Kauffman Foundation
and UMKC’s Bloch School of Management to identify
and act on the needs of local small businesses, including
female entrepreneurs.
33
Mayor Sly James of Kansas City, Missouri
34
is an advocate
for increased women’s entrepreneurship, working
with other regional partners to launch a Women’s
Empowerment (WE) initiative in the city focused on
making “Kansas City an ideal place for women to live and
to do business.” As part of this WE initiative, the mayor
and community partners hope to examine the way the
city does business and interacts with women in order to
address the underrepresentation of women in business
and leadership in the community and “develop a blueprint
of strategies” to make Kansas City’s government a
“conduit of success” for women in the city.
35
ALI GNI NG EFFORTS
To make better use of its resources in promoting women’s
entrepreneurship, regional stakeholders came together
to create OneKC for Women. Launched in 2009, OneKC
for Women is an alliance of organizations focused on
providing career and business support services to women
in the Kansas City community. The alliance consists of the
Women’s Employment Network, the Women’s Business
Center, and the Women’s Capital Connection. By bringing
together groups focused on helping low income women
and entrepreneurs, as well as and providing access to
investment capital, OneKC for Women offers a one-
stop shop, giving services to women at all stages of the
professional and business development process.
OneKC for Women also works with a network of
partner organizations, including high-pro?le nonpro?ts
such as the Kauffman Foundation, to connect female
entrepreneurs to a strong network of support services
and other useful resources. OneKC for Women
offers female entrepreneurs a variety of services and
opportunities for enrichment, including educational
seminars, mentoring, and access to angel investment
networks. The program also works with the Kauffman
KANSAS CITY
Central Exchange, a Kansas
City women’s development
organization, was established
in 1978.
The region has a long tradition of
entrepreneurial development.
The organization supports
women-owned businesses with
revenue from $250,000 to
$1 million.
$250K
$1M
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Center for Women in Business
P29
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
Foundation to offer female business owners in-depth training thorough
its FastTrac NewVenture classes, helping new entrepreneurs test the
feasibility of business concepts before launch.
36
The Kansas City region’s emphasis on entrepreneurship is part of its larger
goal of attracting more young women professionals to the area. One new
initiative, the Athena League, brings together young female entrepreneurs
and established business community leaders to offer support, mentoring,
and inspiration to “aspiring and established female entrepreneurs” in the
Kansas City metro area. A central goal of the group is to give women
interested in entrepreneurship “a safe place where they can network and
where they can bond with people who look and sound like them.”
37
TAKI NG THE NEXT STEP
While foundational support and local leadership have created a
situation where “Kansas City is ripe with entrepreneurial resources,”
local women’s entrepreneurship champions still see gaps in need of
increased focus and are working to address them. While the metro area
has “many, many resources for startups,” there can sometimes be a lack
of support mechanisms for established businesses, including women-
owned businesses, according to CiCi Rojas, CEO of Central Exchange, a
Kansas City organization focused on women’s leadership, business, and
professional development. Rojas and Central Exchange have, among
their other initiatives, focused on offering support to “broadening
entrepreneurs.” These are women-owned businesses with revenue in the
$250,000 to $1 million range, in need of support and guidance to take the
next steps toward growth and expansion.
Established in 1978, Central Exchange has more than 1,100 members
including entrepreneurs, local leaders, and young professionals.
Entrepreneurs make up the fastest-growing segment of the organization’s
membership base, as more women launch ventures and seek venues for
“meaningful networking” and professional development. With partners
including the regional chamber and Women’s Business Development
Center, Central Exchange is “investing more time and effort in that
space,” working to help already established female entrepreneurs move
to the next level by providing opportunities for networking and access
to regional business leaders and resources. Looking to further the
development a culture friendly to women business leaders in the region,
the organization launched a “win|win” campaign. The win|win initiative,
supported by multiple public and private sector sponsors, promotes
the development of work environments that actively advocate for “the
development and advancement of women,” including at the board level.
Companies and organizations that support the campaign pledge to
embrace the initiative’s goals and share best practices for implementing a
female-friendly business leadership culture.
BUI LDI NG ON A STRONG FOUNDATI ON
With the leadership of the Kauffman Foundation, local government
of?cials, and business leaders, along with the strong regional support for
women’s entrepreneurship, the Kansas City region has a solid foundation
for continued growth in women-owned business. However, even with the
“bigger spotlight” provided by Kauffman and the added tools it brings to
bear, building awareness remains a key part of the formula for making full
use of the region’s new partnerships and deep resources. By shining a light
on the value that women-owned business can bring to the economic table,
local advocates plan to ensure that female innovators and leaders play a
key role in making Kansas City one of the most entrepreneurship-friendly
cities in the nation.
CENTRAL EXCHANGE HAS
MORE THAN
1,100
MEMBERS
THE KANSAS CITY
CHAMBER HAS SET
MAKING KANSAS CITY
“AMERICA’ S MOST
ENTREPRENEURIAL CITY”
AS ONE OF ITS
“BIG 5”
GOALS FOR ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
P29
BUI LDI NG A PUBLI C- PRI VATE
PARTNERSHI P TO SUPPORT WOMEN’ S
ENTREPRENEURSHI P
The Salt Lake Chamber Women’s Business Center
(WBC) in Salt Lake City, Utah, is one of a national
network of nearly 100 such centers around the nation
supported by the Small Business Administration (SBA)
and “designed to assist women in starting and growing
small businesses.”
37
However, unlike many such centers,
the WBC is operated as a nonpro?t organization within
the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, giving it access
to a unique set of tools and resources to aid female
entrepreneurs.
AN EXPANDED TOOLBOX
According to Ann Marie Thompson, program director
at the Women’s Business Center, this organizational
structure enables the WBC to integrate its efforts into
those championed by the existing business community
of Salt Lake City and Utah, providing women business
owners with an expanded range of options and
opportunities. Women participating in WBC programs
are not required to be chamber members but are able to
bene?t from the af?liation.
While the WBC offers a variety of services common
to many national Women’s Business Centers, being
located at a chamber gives the WBC staff and program
participants access to multiple resources, including
opportunities to meet and network with established
chamber business members. By plugging new female
entrepreneurs into chamber events and connections,
the WBC can help businesses identify potential partners
and access existing business networks. Existing
businesspeople tend to “buy from people they know,”
which makes networking opportunities for new women-
owned businesses with existing businesses all the more
valuable in getting up and running.
39
Being located in a relatively unique junction between
the public and private sectors also allows the Women’s
Business Center to expand the range of offerings to
program participants and magnify the voice of new
businesswomen. The WBC clients have access to
numerous chamber educational and outreach events,
helping them build capacity and expanding the voice of
?edgling female entrepreneurs in the regional business
community.
The WBC’s training activities are also enhanced, as it
is able to draw on a pool of talented and experienced
entrepreneurs and business leaders from the chamber
membership to offer classes, seminars, and mentoring.
The Salt Lake Chamber, as an advocate for business in
Utah, also expands possibilities for outreach to female
entrepreneurs, offering a platform to promote the
opportunities and challenges facing women-owned
businesses. As Thompson puts it, the Chamber “has a
loudspeaker” that otherwise may not be available to
promote the value of women’s entrepreneurship and
market WBC services to aspiring female business-owners.
OPENI NG I NTERNATI ONAL
OPPORTUNI TI ES
As part of its efforts to enhance small business
development, the SBA has expanded the focus Women’s
Business Centers place on promoting international trade.
The WBC ?nds itself well placed for such efforts. The Salt
Lake Chamber has an af?liation with the World Trade
Center Utah, an organization linked to a network of 330
trade centers worldwide “that facilitates international
trade and investment.”
40
The close chamber ties to the
trade center enable the WBC to plug clients directly into
assets and trade information, working in partnership
with trade promotion stakeholders throughout the state.
The trade center, the WBC, and the Salt Lake Chamber
share staff; this arrangement creates an environment
where advocates of both women’s entrepreneurship and
trade constantly work together. This provides smooth
access to trade programs for women-owned businesses
working with the WBC. In addition, the WBC has added
international trade to orientation classes, ensuring that
female entrepreneurs are informed about the international
business opportunities as well as local ones.
The WBC also offers women entrepreneurs educational
sessions on ?nance, sales, and marketing. Low-cost,
biweekly classes on business essentials and tools for
jump-starting a business are also given throughout the
year. The WBC also hosts monthly Business Women’s
Forums, providing events aimed at developing leadership
skills, discussing issues facing entrepreneurs and
networking with other local women business owners.
In addition, the WBC also offers a “Grow” initiative,
which provides new entrepreneurs with mentoring and
networking opportunities, helping female entrepreneurs
make connections and access the information they need
to succeed.
SALT LAKE CHAMBER
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Rural Entrepreneurship:
Supporting Women-Owned
Enterprise Off the Beaten Path
A BUSI NESS- FRI ENDLY STATE
According to Thompson, Utah is generally a
“great place to do business,” with government
of?cials doing their best to make it easy to
start a business and maintaining an easily
accessible wealth of information to share with
interested entrepreneurs. Utah’s institutions
of higher education have also partnered with
the WBC to boost female entrepreneurs in
the state, creating community partnerships
to provide support services to new business
owners. Students in business-related
programs are able to work with entrepreneurs,
creating a mutually bene?cial situation where
“students get real life experience, and (WBC)
clients get real help” in improving their
business.
As the only major women’s entrepreneurship
center in the state, the WBC also extends its
outreach services to rural entrepreneurs in
isolated portions of Utah. Women starting
businesses in such communities can face
issues when it comes to accessing capital, and
distance from the center can make accessing
classes and information more dif?cult. To
deal with such challenges, the WBC takes
referrals from its network of partners and
allies around the state, which work to direct
new entrepreneurs to the services offered. The
WBC also extends some services to men and
minority-owned businesses, providing some
specialized training and expanding its reach
and exposure in the region.
PUBLI C- PRI VATE
COLLABORATI ON
As an SBA-chartered organization within a
private business advocacy organization, the
Salt Lake Chamber Women’s Business Center
occupies a sweet spot for entrepreneurship
development, bringing the resources of the
government together with the know-how and
business savvy of the private sector. Working
through the WBC, advocates for women’s
entrepreneurship in Utah are able to marshal
regional resources to support the women of
Utah as they seek to build the next generation
of women-owned businesses on the booming
Wasatch Front.
While technological advancement has helped alleviate the
isolation of rural Americans, rural entrepreneurs still face the
inherent challenges of “low population density and remoteness,
with their implications for access to markets, capital, labor, peers,
and infrastructure.”
41
In addition to being isolated from support
networks and potential customers, aspiring entrepreneurs in rural
areas also face local cultural norms that are skeptical of the risks
associated with entrepreneurship. These factors can make the
already dif?cult task of starting a business even more challenging.
To help women interested in becoming entrepreneurs thrive
in rural America, a variety of innovative programs have been
established offering outreach and support tailored to their
needs and challenges. As part of its Rural Enterprise Assistance
Project (REAP), Nebraska’s Center for Rural Affairs created a
Women’s Business Center
42
focused on supporting women-owned
businesses and rural female entrepreneurs throughout the state.
Seeking to overcome barriers of distance, the program operates
as a “center without walls,” offering extension-type services
through a statewide network of business service specialists. The
center also offers educational programs tailored to the needs of
rural entrepreneurs, including sessions related to Internet-related
business.
The program includes groups for networking and training and
connects women-owned businesses in rural settings to federal
contracting opportunities and ?nancing. It has won awards for
its efforts to support rural microenterprise and offers support for
e-commerce and Internet-based businesses, vital ?elds for isolated
rural entrepreneurs interested in accessing wider markets.
Handmade in America’s Appalachian Women Entrepreneurs
43
(AWE) program works to connect rural female entrepreneurs
in rural, Western North Carolina to the resources, networking
opportunities, and marketing information they need to launch
successful small businesses. The program is built around “business
networks” established in regional communities, which help women
in isolated regions access business resources. The program focuses
on supporting women entrepreneurs producing crafts and other
related handmade products for market. Since its launch, AWE has
hosted two conferences focused on bringing female entrepreneurs
from the region together to network, learn from each other’s
experiences, and build a regional support structure. By unleashing
the power of female entrepreneurs, the goal of the program is
to bring growth to a region traditionally marked by higher than
average economic distress and unemployment.
One area of progress and success for rural women entrepreneurs
can be found in the traditionally male-dominated ?eld of
agriculture. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture data, the
“share of U.S. farms operated by women nearly tripled over the
past three decades,” reaching 14% of all farms in the last reported
Census of Agriculture.
44
More than 300,000 women are now
primary operators of an American farm, with more than one million
women serving as a primary or secondary operator of a farm in the
United States. While many women-operated farms remain small in
size, there has been growth in all sales classes, with female farmers
showing a propensity to move into specialty ?elds, including
“poultry and eggs, specialty crops, grains and oilseeds, and dairy.”
45
Still outnumbered by men, more and more entrepreneurial women
have moved into farming and ranching, allowing women to increase
their “share of farms in every sales class during the past 25 years.”
46
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WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
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STEPPI NG UP TO SUPPORT ASPI RI NG
WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
Pittsburgh’s history as a center of industry has left it with
a disproportionate number of large, wealthy foundations,
giving it, according to some ?gures, the second-highest
amount of foundation dollars per capita in the country.
47
These foundations are strongly committed to the
community and have invested heavily in entrepreneurial
support institutions and initiatives.
I NVOLVI NG MORE WOMEN
Under the aegis of this strong support infrastructure,
a number of organizations and foundations in the
city have committed to support the expansion of
women-owned business. One of Pittsburgh’s notable
advocates for women’s entrepreneurship is Chatham
University’s Center for Women’s Entrepreneurship
(CWE). Created in partnership between Chatham and
several Pittsburgh-based foundations, the CWE offers
“entrepreneurial education and training, mentoring, and
networking” opportunities for female entrepreneurs
in Pittsburgh. Backed by private sector sponsors, the
center has built speci?c training programs for both
startups and established businesses looking to grow.
Chatham, a private, women’s undergraduate college and
coeducational graduate school, launched the program
in 2005 to provide education and training for female
entrepreneurs.
As part of its pro-entrepreneurship activities, the CWE
operates MYConsultingCorner, a program connecting
interested women-owned businesses in the Pittsburgh
area with teams of Chatham University business students.
The goal of the program is to turn student M.B.A. projects
into a “client ?eld program” to pursue projects that
support the participating business while offering female
students hands on experience in entrepreneurship. An
“Executive in Residence” works with the students and
business owner to tailor the projects and guide them to
successful completion.
The CWE also offers business basics workshops and
multiweek courses in business startup and growth
strategies. Enrollment in training programs includes a
membership in the CWE, offering entrepreneurs access to
networking events, marketing tools, and basic consulting
services designed to help new businesses analyze their
Web and social media needs.
SETTI NG THE STAGE FOR GROWTH
According to CWE program assistant Patricia Decker,
achieving $1 million in revenue can prove to be “the
elusive mark for female-owned businesses.”
48
Nationally,
only one in ?ve businesses with more than $1 million in
revenue is owned by a woman.
49
CWE’s MyBoard program
is designed to help women-owned businesses overcome
barriers to expansion by matching “growth-stage women-
owned businesses” with a team of mentors to help guide
the entrepreneur. The mentors act as an executive board,
meeting with the participating entrepreneur several times
over the course of a year to help the business take steps
toward growth. The consultations can include business
planning, ?nancial counseling, operational support, or
other tailored guidance.
PITTSBURGH
PITTSBURGH
FEATURES THE
2ND HIGHEST
AMOUNT OF FOUNDATION DOLLARS PER
CAPITA IN THE COUNTRY
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WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
MAKI NG AN EFFORT TO SUPPORT WOMEN-
OWNED BUSI NESSES
With a multitude of foundational, private, governmental, and educational
stakeholders involved in championing women’s entrepreneurship, there
is need for coordination and alignment. According to Decker, local and
regional government stays engaged, and the city’s foundations work
together toward a common goal of supporting women-owned businesses.
Allegheny County, home to the city of Pittsburgh, maintains a Department
of Minority, Women and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise, which
helps women- and minority-owned businesses grow, thrive, and seek
government contracting opportunities. The county has established rules
requiring contractors to make a ‘good-faith effort’ to hire minority-
or women-owned subcontractors and has set a goal to have 13% of
its business go to minority-owned businesses and an additional 2%
to women-owned businesses. In some areas, these goals have been
exceeded, such as 39.6% of public works contracts with the country going
to women-owned businesses in 2012.
50
The city’s strong entrepreneurial culture and deep entrepreneurial support
system, including incubators, tech centers, small business development
centers, the SBA, and local universities, provide a variety of resources for
female entrepreneurs. According to Decker, Pittsburgh women’s business
stakeholders have a “general recognition that there are plenty of people”
looking to get involved and start businesses, and are committed to
collaboration. At the end of the day, the “sheer number of entrepreneurs
allows for a lot of opportunities.” As a result, those involved in supporting
women entrepreneurs are able to ask, “How can we serve these people
better?”
51
By complimenting and building on the city’s already strong
foundation for entrepreneurial development, programs such as the
CWE have built strong working relationships around the realization that
“everybody wants more small businesses”
52
in the city of Pittsburgh.
Tapping the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the city’s entrepreneurial
women is one way that Pittsburgh can make that goal a reality.
ALLEGHENY COUNTY
HAS SET A GOAL TO
HAVE
13%
OF ITS BUSINESS GO
TO MINORITY-OWNED
SUBCONTRACTORS
AND AN ADDITIONAL
2%
TO WOMEN-OWNED
BUSINESSES
39.6% 39.6%
OF PUBLIC WORKS
PROJECTS IN THE
COUNTY WENT TO
WOMEN-OWNED
BUSINESSES IN 2012
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BUI LDI NG A “CULTURE OF
BUSI NESS” THROUGH WOMEN’ S
ENTREPRENEURSHI P
Home to a solid economy and strong entrepreneurial
climate, San Antonio’s leadership has made efforts to
ensure that business and government work together
actively and constructively to promote a “culture of
business” throughout the city. Support of women-owned
business plays a key role in these efforts, tapping into
an engine of job creation and economic prosperity for a
growing region.
EMPOWERI NG WOMEN’ S
ENTREPRENEURI AL DRI VE
Leadership in San Antonio has worked to provide
programming and government services designed to
support entrepreneurial efforts by all members of the
community, including women. Business Empowerment
(BE) San Antonio is a partnership between the city,
Alamo Community Colleges, and the South Central
Texas Regional Certi?cation Agency and focuses on
providing support to small, women-owned, and minority-
owned businesses in the San Antonio region. Female
entrepreneurs are able to take part in the program’s two-
stage “Business Empowerment Plan,” which includes an
initial small business education boot camp followed by
a mentor-protégé and bonding assistance program for
participating entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurs in BE San Antonio’s boot camp can take
part in eight different classes designed to help them
increase the success of their new or existing venture.
The mentor-protégé program offers follow-up guidance
to ensure that new businesses grow and thrive, while
the bonding assistance program helps women-owned
small businesses improve their credit. The program helps
them become bondable, increasing their potential of
being awarded contracts from the city and other local
government or private entities. Many of the program’s
participants are already established business owners
looking to brush up on their business skills with an eye
toward expansion. Program providers work to help these
women ?nd ways to expand their skills and identify steps
for success. By emphasizing “joint efforts” and working
together to support women-owned business, the city has
been able to build a strong foundation for public-private
partnership.
Support of small businesses, including women-owned
businesses, has been a central focus of the city’s
economic development efforts. Its small business of?ce is
located within its Economic Development Department,
and city of?cials ensure that entrepreneurs are involved
in projects throughout the community. Looking to ease
regulatory burdens, San Antonio has embraced a one-
stop concept for entrepreneurs interacting with city
government. The city’s small business center works to
ease interactions with government departments by giving
aspiring entrepreneurs one point of contact to deal with
permitting and other regulatory issues. The city also
provides advocacy services to help business owners
through the stages of launching or growing their business.
These services provide women interested in building a
business a guide through the licensing, permitting, and
regulatory processes in the city.
San Antonio leaders have also worked to ensure that the
voice of women business owners is heard throughout
the policy process. The city maintains a Small Business
Advisory Committee made up of 11 entrepreneurs to give
city policymakers guidance on small business issues. The
SAN ANTONIO
Programs and government
services are designed to support
entrepreneurial efforts.
City leaders have worked
to ensure that the voices of
female entrepreneurs are heard
throughout the policy process.
The Business Empowerment
Plan includes a small business
education boot camp and
mentor-protege assistance for
women business owners.
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WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
committee, which includes several female entrepreneurs, also provides
direction on programs and policies designed to ensure that more women-
and minority-owned businesses are able to do business with the city
through its contracting process.
Bexar County, home to most of San Antonio, has also committed to
support women-owned businesses, through its Small, Minority, Women,
and Veteran Owned Business Enterprise program. County projects and
procurement agencies actively seek to contract with women-owned
businesses, offering guidance and connections to other business support
stakeholders, helping women entrepreneurs more easily do business with
government.
PUTTI NG ENTREPRENEURI AL SPI RI T
I NTO ACTI ON
Nonpro?t organizations have stepped up to support women business
owners in San Antonio. Accion, one of the nation’s leading microlenders,
is an active participant in supporting women’s entrepreneurship in the
region. Modeled after successful entrepreneurship and lending programs
in Latin America, Accion Texas focuses on providing credit and services to
small businesses and entrepreneurs that do not have access to loans from
commercial sources. San Antonio was one of the ?rst four cities targeted
at the program’s launch in the United States in the early 1990s.
While Accion works to support all types of entrepreneurs, the program
offers outreach and support tailored to women entrepreneurs through its
Women’s Business Center. In addition to connecting women interested
in starting a business to Accion lending resources, the center offers a
variety of training sessions, business counseling, and planning. The center
also works with other community partners to host business roundtable
meetings where aspiring female entrepreneurs can meet successful
business owners and experts to learn how to get a new business up and
running.
BROADENI NG THE ENTREPRENEURI AL
SUPPORT SYSTEM
The metro area is home to multiple chambers of commerce, many of which
provide programming and events focused on highlighting and supporting
women business owners. The city is also home to the Women’s Chamber
of Commerce, founded in 1988. The chamber serves as an educational
organization, connecting female entrepreneurs to leadership and business
skills training. Larger businesses have also helped build the entrepreneurial
base by committing to contract with local small businesses, including
women-owned ventures. The National Association of Women Business
Owners is also active in the city, providing representation, education,
networking, and policy advocacy for the more than 50,000 women
business owners in the San Antonio metro area.
In addition, colleges and universities in the city are active stakeholders in
supporting the growth of women’s entrepreneurship in San Antonio. The
University of Texas at San Antonio operates a small business development
center out of its Institute for Economic Development, providing services
and outreach to all entrepreneurs, including women. The center hosts
meetings and workshops designed speci?cally for women entrepreneurs
through educational and networking opportunities.
SAN ANTONIO WAS
ONE OF THE FIRST
4 CITIES
TARGETED AT ACCION’ S
PROGRAM LAUNCH
SAN ANTONIO’ S WOMEN’ S
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
WAS FOUNDED IN
1988
THERE ARE MORE THAN
50,000
WOMEN BUSINESS OWNERS
IN THE SAN ANTONIO
METRO AREA
FEMALE
ENTREPRENEURS ARE
ABLE TO TAKE PART IN
BE SAN ANTONIO’ S
TWO-STAGE
“BUSINESS
EMPOWERMENT PLAN”
P35
P36
Though certain pockets of the country have higher levels of female entrepreneurship than others, our research shows
that any community with determination can build a supportive network for its local women-owned businesses. The
communities and programs highlighted in this report are only a snapshot of the work that is under way across the
country to continue growing women’s entrepreneurship. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation recognizes the
hard work of these and other programs that are working tirelessly to create jobs, solve problems, and strengthen
America’s long-term competitiveness. It is clear that when communities help women in business succeed, they
ultimately help America succeed as well.
CONCLUSION
THE CENTER FOR
WOMEN I N BUSI NESS
The Center for Women in Business (CWB), a unique program of the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce Foundation, advances women business leaders. CWB
facilitates networking and mentoring opportunities for women in all stages of
their careers, promotes opportunities for women to serve on corporate boards
and in the C-suite, and builds a robust network of entrepreneurs to encourage
peer-to-peer networking, education, and professional growth.
THE U. S. CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE FOUNDATI ON
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (USCCF) is a 501 (c)(3) nonpro?t
af?liate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce dedicated to strengthening
America’s long-term competitiveness by addressing developments that affect
our nation, our economy, and the global business environment.
P36
Center for Women in Business
P37
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
1
“2013 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report”, American Express OPENhttps://c401345.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/pdf/WomanReport_FINAL.pdf
2
Angel Kwolek-Folland, Incorporating Women: A History of Women and Business in the United States (New York: Twayne, 1998).
3
“The American Express OPEN State of Women-Owned Businesses Report”https://c401345.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/pdf/WomanReport_FINAL.pdf
4http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/?les/Issue Brief 2,%20Business%20Owner%20Demographics.pdf
5
“2013 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report”, American Express OPEN
6
Lesa Mitchell. “Overcoming the Gender Gap: Women Entrepreneurs as Economic Drivers.” Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
September 2011
7
Jessica Canning, Maryam Haque, Yimeng Wang. Women at the Wheel: Do Female Executives Drive Success?
VentureSource. 2012 Dow Jones and Company Inc
8
Companies that went public, were acquired, or turned pro?table were de?ned as “successful.” “Unsuccessful” included both failed
companies and “not-yet-successful” startups still operating that may eventually go public or get acquired.
9
Catherine Jay Didion, Rita S. Guenther, and Victoria Gunderson: Rapporteurs; From Science to Business: Preparing Female
Scientists and Engineers for Successful Transitions into Entrepreneurship: Summary of a Workshop. Committee on Women in
Science, Engineering, and Medicine; Policy and Global Affairs; National Research Council. 2012.
10
From Ideas to Independence: A Century of Entrepreneurial Women. National Women’s History Museum.
See www.http://entrepreneurs.nwhm.org
11
Joshua Wright, “Characteristics of the Self-Employed,” Economicmodeling.com, July 18th, 2012.
12
Wendell Cox, “Driving Alone Dominates 2007-2012 Commuting Trend,” Newgeography.com, Oct. 9, 2013; Wendell Cox, “Decade of
the Telecommute,” Newgeography.com, Oct. 5, 2010.
13http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1717932;
www.economicmodeling.com/2011/04/29/independent-contractors-othernoncovered-workers-on-the-rise/
14
U.S Chamber of Commerce Foundation. 2013 Enterprising States: Getting Down to Small Business
15
Stephan J. Goetz, David A. Fleming, and Anil Rupasingha. “The Economic Impacts of Self-Employment.”
Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, 44,3(August 2012):315–321. 2012.
16https://c401345.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/pdf/State_of_Women-Owned_Businesses Report_FINAL.pdf
17
American Express, The 2013 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report,https://c401345.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com...3/03/13ADV-WBI-E-StateOfWomenReport_FINAL.pdf
18http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25619252
19http://www.babson.edu/Academics/cen...research/gem/Documents/GEM_US_2011_Report.pdf
20http://www.gemconsortium.org/docs/download/2825
21
The National Women’s Business Council (NWBC). “Best Practices in Supporting Women’s Entrepreneurship: A Compendium of
Public and Private Sector Organizations and Initiatives” 2004.
22
It never has met that target, capturing only about 3.2 percent of the total, according to federal procurement data. The effort,
which allows agencies to reserve money for women-owned businesses, started in April 2011, 11 years after Congress ordered the
SBA to create the program. Danielle Ivory. Women Lose More Ground in U.S. Small Business Contracts Race. Bloomberg.com. Jan
24, 2013.
23
Interview, Ruthe Farmer, Director of Strategic Initiatives, National Center for Women & IT (NCWIT)
24
ncwit.org/extensionservices
ENDNOTES
66
P37
P38
25
Ibid.
26
ncwit.org/heroes
27http://www.ncwit.org/programs-campaigns/awards/ncwit-symons-innovator-award
28https://www.ncwit.org/programs-campaigns/pacesetters
29https://www.ncwit.org/sites/default...ition_in_computing_april_2012_communications_
of_the_acm_copy.pdf
30
Farmer interview.
31http://www.ncwit.org/sites/default/?las/resources/ncwit_thefacts_rev2010.pdf
32
Interview, CiCi Rojas, Director, Central Exchange
33http://www.big5kc.com/
34
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kauffman/2013/12/03/what-cities-can-do-to-boost-entrepreneurship/
35
http://kcmayor.org/pro?les/womens-empowerment
36
http://fasttrac.org/entrepreneurs/programs/FastTrac NewVenture.aspx
37http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/blog/2013/09/breaking-down-silos-athena-league.html?page=al
38
http://www.sba.gov/tools/local-assistance/wbc
39
Interview, Ann Marie Thompson, Program Director Salt Lake Chamber Women’s Business Center
40http://www.wtcutah.com/about
41
Brian Dabson, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, “Supporting Rural Entrepreneurship.”http://www.frbkc.org/PUBLICAT/
Exploring/RC01Dabs.pdf
42http://www.cfra.org/reap/wbc
43http://www.handmadeinamerica.org/awe.html
44
http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib-economic-information-bulletin/eib111.aspx#.Ureay9JDslo
45
http://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2013-may/among-women-farmers,-different-specializations-dominate-farm-numbers,-
farm-sales.aspx#.Uream9JDslp
46http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib-economic-information-bulletin/eib111.aspx#.Ureay9JDslo
47http://www.entrepreneurship.org/ID8/Pittsburgh/City-Overview/Foundations.aspx
48
Interview, Patricia Decker, Program Assistant, Chatham University Center for Women’s Entrepreneurship.
49http://www.alumniconnections.com/olc/pub/CWT/pub/pub_page_6.html#listup
50http://www.post-gazette.com/busines...norities-women-are-getting-county-s-business/
stories/201311280203
51
Interview, Patricia Decker, Program Assistant, Chatham University Center for Women’s Entrepreneurship.
52
Ibid.
P38
Center for Women in Business
@ChamberCWB ChamberCWB ChamberCWB
doc_548693688.pdf
This brief detail around women owned businesses carving a new american business landscape.
WOMEN-OWNED
BUSI NESSES
CARVING A NEW AMERICAN BUSINESS LANDSCAPE
P2
TABLE
of
CONTENTS
3
Letter from David C. Chavern
and Hon. John R. McKernan Jr.
4
Executive Summary
5
Best Practices for Female
Entrepreneurs
6
PART ONE
A Changing Landscape
for Women Entrepreneurs
7
Breaking Through
the Glass Walls
8
The Rise of the
Self-Employed Worker
10
Self-Employed
Women Entrepreneurs
in the American Economy
12
The Geography of
Self-Employed Women
14
Self-Employed Women by
Industry and Occupation
22
Advancing Women’s Business
Startup, Growth, and Leadership
Capabilities
24
PART TWO
Cultivating Female
Entrepreneurs:
Examples in Action
26
National Center for Women
& Information Technology
28
Kansas City
30
Salt Lake Chamber
32
Pittsburgh
34
San Antonio
36
Conclusion
37
Endnotes
P2
Center for Women in Business
P3
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
The face of entrepreneurship is changing.
Over the last 15 years, women-owned ?rms have grown by one and a half times the rate of other
small enterprises and now account for almost 30 percent of all businesses. Additionally, one in
?ve ?rms with revenue of $1 million or more is woman-owned.
Most of us in the business community are familiar with Barbara Corcoran, Sara Blakely,
Tory Burch, and other prominent female entrepreneurs. But the growing ranks of women-
owned businesses include countless success stories that deserve attention. These include
Jenny Fulton, a laid off stockbroker who started Jenny’s Pickles; Rumia Ambrose-Burbank,
who left Electronic Data Systems to start VMS and grew it to one of the top 50 grossing
African-American owned businesses in the nation; and El Brown, who made it her goal to
empower military spouses through mobile career opportunities while also running KinderJam,
an Early Childhood Education learning program.
The Center for Women in Business is pleased to present our latest research highlighting
the growing impact of women entrepreneurs and small business owners on the American
economy. We look at how women like Fulton, Ambrose-Burbank, and Brown are reshaping the
entrepreneurial landscape. In particular, we examine the “1099 economy” and the women who
have started their own micro-enterprises either out of choice or necessity. The research also
provides powerful examples of systems and programs that encourage and support women’s
business initiatives in communities around the United States.
Though this report is a mere snapshot of what is going on in our nation, we are sure you will
agree that women are impacting how business gets done in America.
DAVID C. CHAVERN
President, Center for Women in Business;
Chief Operating Of?cer, U.S. Chamber of
Commerce
THE HONORABLE
JOHN R. McKERNAN JR.
Senior Adviser to the President and CEO,
U.S. Chamber of Commerce;
President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Foundation
P3
P4
WOMEN FORGING AMERICA’ S NEW
ENTREPRENEURIAL LANDSCAPE
Executive Summary
It may seem counterintuitive, but small businesses have a huge effect on
the American economy. As more and more women join the ranks of small
business owners, that effect is only going to grow. In fact, women-owned
?rms have grown at one and a half times the rate of other small enterprises
over the last 15 years and account for nearly 30% of all businesses.
1
However, even though women are founding companies at a historic rate,
a signi?cant gender gap in employer ?rms remains.
One critical growth trend for women-owned businesses is the rise of a
“new” kind of enterprise that often employs no more than its proprietors.
These “jobless entrepreneurs” include corporate executives, technicians
and other professionals who, either by choice or necessity, have chosen to
strike out in their own micro-enterprises.
Ninety percent of women-owned businesses have no employees other
than the business owner, compared to 82% of all ?rms. Only 2% of women-
owned ?rms have 10 or more employees—trailing the 4% rate for all
businesses. This discrepancy suggests that we can and must do more to
support women in their efforts to build businesses, create jobs, and grow
our economy.
This report discusses the growing economic impact of self-employed
women entrepreneurs and small business owners on the U.S. economy. It
looks at which states have attracted the most women-owned ?rms and
seeks to share lessons from communities that have seen their rates of
female entrepreneurship ?ourish. Smart, pragmatic programs can play
an instrumental role in advancing the interests and building the business
acumen of women entrepreneurs. As successful solo enterprises led by
women grow into employer ?rms, understanding their character and
impact will contribute to creating environments that help more women
scale up their businesses and ultimately serve national and international
markets in unique and groundbreaking ways.
Our ?ndings suggest that women are most likely to be self-employed
in the western states, led by the Paci?c Northwest. Oregon ranks ?rst
in the nation with 45.4% of its self-employed workers being female and
Washington state comes in fourth. Texas ranks second in the nation, and
each of the other top 7 states are in the west—Utah, Nevada, New Mexico,
and Wyoming. In all, 11 of the top 17 states for female entrepreneurs lie in
a string of Western states from Washington to Texas. Other pockets of
higher concentrations of self-employed women include the Central Atlantic
states surrounding the nation’s capital—Maryland , Delaware, Virginia,
and West Virginia—and the southern half of the northeast—Rhode Island,
Massachusetts, and Connecticut.
2%
OF WOMEN-OWNED
FIRMS HAVE 10 OR
MORE EMPLOYEES
WOMEN-OWNED FIRMS
ACCOUNT FOR NEARLY
30%
OF ALL NEW
BUSINESSES
90%
OF WOMEN-OWNED
BUSINESSES HAVE NO
EMPLOYEES OTHER
THAN THE BUSINESS
OWNER
P4
Center for Women in Business
P5
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
BEST PRACTICES
for
FEMALE
ENTREPRENEURS
This report provides in-depth pro?les of ?ve innovative approaches that are being deployed to
create and expand women-owned small businesses, often by or in cooperation with local and regional
development organizations.
The communities and programs highlighted in this
report—the National Center for Women and Information
Technology (NCWIT) in Boulder, a multi-agency program
in Kansas City, a chamber of commerce in Salt Lake City,
Pittsburgh’s Center for Women Entrepreneurs, and the
San Antonio city government and nonpro?t partners—
are located in states and regions with varying rates of
women’s entrepreneurship. Regardless of their location,
the communities and programs featured here are
examples of engaged stakeholders in the public, private,
nonpro?t, and educational sectors coming together to
support women-owned businesses and help them grow
and thrive.
APPROACHES THAT BEST PREPARE WOMEN
ENTREPRENEURS FOR SUCCESS DO THE FOLLOWI NG:
Advocate on women’s
business issues.
Create incentives
for contracting
with women-owned
businesses.
Develop women’s
entrepreneurial leadership
skills through mentoring
opportunities and events.
Educate women business
owners in evaluating
funding sources and
accessing capital.
Provide networking
opportunities
speci?cally for women.
Offer comprehensive
training and
counseling on a variety
of business topics.
P5
P6
Nothing expresses the American spirit of free enterprise
better than the image of the intrepid entrepreneur or
the agile small business. Companies like these serve our
nation as a vital force for innovation and job creation.
Small businesses, whatever size de?nition one uses, have
historically driven our economy and played a signi?cant,
continuous role in forging the economy of the future.
The small business economy today and the one taking
shape for tomorrow are in?uenced by a host of ethnic,
social, and generational changes. These shifts re?ect a
far more diverse and profoundly different set of players
than ever before and are revealed no more clearly than in
the signi?cant growth of women as entrepreneurs, small
business owners, and corporate leaders.
Women have always owned businesses. What has
changed over the last few decades is women’s increased
participation, leadership, and impact in a wider range
of businesses.
2
Women-owned ?rms have grown by one
and a half times the rate of other small enterprises over
the last 15 years and now account for almost 30% of
all businesses.
3
Since 2007, women-owned businesses
have led privately held company job growth in America,
second only to publicly traded ?rms. According to
the 2013 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report,
commissioned by American Express OPEN, women-
owned businesses added 175,000 net jobs versus a
national net decline of 569,000 jobs among all privately
held ?rms during the same time period. While the Small
Business Administration reports that there have been
signs of stabilization in the overall share of women-owned
businesses during the Great Recession, women’s overall
share of businesses owned remained “sizable and stable”
between 2007 and 2012, locking in the notable gains seen
over the last few decades.
4
A major reason for the boom in women-owned
businesses is that they are at the forefront of a new kind
of enterprise, one that often employs no more than its
proprietors. In many cases, these “solo entrepreneurs”
include corporate executives, technicians, and other
professionals who, either by choice or necessity, have
chosen to start their own microenterprises. These
entrepreneurs contribute to the “1099 economy,” a
reference to the 1099 tax form that allows individuals
to report income received throughout the year other
than the salary received from an employer. A large
portion of this bustling 1099 economy comes from the
growing ranks of boomers who are no longer willing or
able to work for a large corporation. Women make up a
signi?cant part of the solo entrepreneur movement with
an estimated 90% of women-owned ?rms having no
employees other than the business owner.
A CHANGING LANDSCAPE
for
WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
PART 1
P6
Center for Women in Business
P7
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
Although women are founding companies at a signi?cant pace, there
remains a signi?cant gender gap among employer ?rms.
Ninety percent
of women-owned ?rms have no employees other than the business owner,
compared to 82% of all ?rms, and just 2% of women-owned ?rms have
10 or more employees- trailing the 4% rate for all ?rms.
5
This discrepancy
suggests that women face greater challenges than men in scaling up their
businesses.
The gap is acutely apparent among high-growth, venture-backed
businesses and scalable, high-return startups. These high-growth ?rms are
most common in the ?elds of science, technology, and business services.
As noted by Lesa Mitchell, writing for the Kauffman Foundation, “While
women have made great strides in breaking through the proverbial ‘glass
ceiling’ to advance to high rank within corporations, few have made similar
strides in breaking out laterally—through what might be called the ‘glass
walls’ to start their own high-growth ?rms.”
6
Women at the Wheel,
7
an analysis by Dow Jones VentureSource of more than
20,000 venture-backed companies in the United States between 1997 and
2011 found that 1.3% of privately held companies have a female founder,
6.5% have a female CEO, and 20% have one or more female C-level
executives. The study also found that successful startups have more
women in senior positions and more than twice as many women in top jobs
like C-level managers, vice presidents, and board members. At successful
companies, the median share of female executives was 7.1%, compared
with 3.1% at unsuccessful ?rms.
8
For startups with ?ve or more women
employees, 61% were successful and 39% failed.
There is plenty of evidence that women are often excluded from formal
and informal networks in science, technology and business services
9
that
would otherwise provide access to managerial or technical leadership
positions. Also, women have historically had little access to traditional
forms of business capital, often having no other choice but to use credit
cards and savings to launch their ventures.
In sum, women business owners throughout history “often had to go
it alone, create parallel networks to traditionally male organizations, or
forge alliances to gain access to vital means of producing, distributing
and growing their businesses.”
10
These gender-speci?c obstacles cannot
be easily overcome without intentional and meaningful efforts by both
the public and private sectors to empower and equip women to play
a signi?cant role in revitalizing the economy. To propel women-owned
businesses beyond the microenterprise stage will take support services
and programs speci?cally geared to women.
BREAKING THROUGH
the
GLASS WALLS
1.3%
HAVE A FEMALE
FOUNDER
6.5%
HAVE A FEMALE CEO
OF MORE THAN 20,000
VENTURE-BACKED
COMPANI ES I N THE
U.S. BETWEEN 1997 & 2011
20%
HAVE ONE OR MORE
FEMALE C-LEVEL
EXECUTIVES
P7
P8
THE RISE OF THE
SELF-EMPLOYED WORKER
This report focuses specifically on profiling the growing
economic phenomenon and impact of self-employed
women entrepreneurs and small business owners in
the American economy and how they are reshaping
the entrepreneurial landscape.
Women-owned self-employed enterprises are making
signi?cant contributions to our nation’s economy and
are a harbinger of what the workforce of the future
may increasingly look like. In some cases, these solo
enterprises will garner suf?cient traction in the market
to become employer ?rms, so understanding their
character and impact will contribute to creating policies
and programs to help women scale up their businesses to
serve national and international markets.
As more workers are venturing out on their own, some are
driven by a desire for ?exibility and independence, others
may be forced into self-employment out of personal or
?nancial necessity. For this report, these are individuals
considering self-employment as their primary means
of income and working for unincorporated entities.
Once incorporated, these workers are considered to be
employees of their own companies. Because of this off-
the-record status, these workers can be overlooked in
economic and community planning.
The number of self-employed workers exploded in
the early 2000s but suffered losses during the Great
Recession and housing bust. Over the last year, however,
their numbers have begun growing again. This group of
workers now numbers 10 million in 2013, up 9.1% since
2001, a growth rate 2.6 times faster than employees in
incorporated entities.
Adding momentum to this self-employment trend is
another 32 million Americans who consider themselves
self-employed on a part-time basis. These workers do
not consider self-employment to be their primary source
of income, and many are partners in income-generating
investments or ventures in the real estate, energy, and
?nance industries.
11
Others generate income in addition
to their regular jobs in ?elds as varied as personal care,
building maintenance, professional services, design,
and computer programming. This group of part-time
proprietors is up 55% since 2001 and has grown every
year over that time period.
The full-time self-employed comprise a broad array
of industries, most notably construction and specialty
contractors, personal care, private household workers,
arts and writing, and increasingly higher end services
such as law, management consulting, accounting, and
computer systems design.
The rise of the high-end 1099 economy of professional
services workers is driven partly by communications and
software improvements that have made telecommuting
easier. If trends in telecommuting continue to increase,
more people will work from home rather than ride
transit to work by 2020. In areas of the country outside
of metropolitan New York—where nearly 40% of the
nation’s transit commuters reside—telecommuters already
outnumber transit riders by 30%.
12
“If trends in telecommuting
continue to increase, more
people will work from home
rather than ride transit to
work by 2020.”
Figure 1 shows the rise in full-time self-employed workers as
compared to employees in incorporated entities.
P8
Center for Women in Business
Source: EMSI 2013.4 Class of Worker – QCEW Employees, Non-QCEW Employees, and Self-Employed
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
30%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
-5%
E MPLOYE E S
3.5%
F UL L-T I ME
S E L F- E MPLOYE D
9.1%
figure 1:
GROWTH OF EMPLOYEES AND
SELF-EMPLOYED WORKERS
P9 P9
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
SELF-EMPLOYED
WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
in the
AMERICAN ECONOMY
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s 2013
Enterprising States: Getting Down to Small Business
study highlighted the growing importance and impact of
women-owned businesses in the American economy, as
well as minority-owned and immigrant-owned businesses.
As mentioned, 90% of women-owned businesses have no
employees other than the business owner. Understanding
why there is such a prevalence of women solo
entrepreneurs is important to understanding the nuances
of entrepreneurship in local economies across the nation.
According to Jeffrey Eisenach, an economist at
George Mason University, the ranks of the independent
contractors and the self-employed have grown by
a million since 2005; 20% work in such ?elds as
management, business services, and ?nance, where
the percentage of people working for themselves rose
from 28% to 40% between 2005 and 2010. Many others
work in ?elds such as energy, mining, real estate, and
construction. As many as 10 million independent workers
make up 7.6% of the national labor force and account for
more than $626 billion in income.
13
The composition of this tapestry of independent workers
is varied, with connections across all industries. Self-
employed construction and personal care workers, who
depend on strong local economies, account for 2.7 million
workers, with another 2.9 million in business occupations
such management, sales, and ?nance. Self-employed
educators have increased by nearly 55% since 2001.
14
Today more than 10 million Americans count self-
employment as their main source of income. According to
the Census Bureau, small businesses without payroll make
up more than 70% of America’s 27 million companies, with
annual sales of $887 billion. If current trends continue,
every third worker will be self-employed or the proprietor
of his or her own business in the next decade.
15
Self-employment is often perceived to be a last ditch
effort by workers who have been laid off and unable to
?nd work again; it is often viewed as low-paying and
providing little or no bene?t for the local economy.
In stark contrast to this perception, evidence shows
that self-employment is growing and has signi?cant
positive economic impacts not only on wage and salary
employment but also on per capita income growth
and poverty reduction. Simply put, self-employment is
growing—particularly among women. The Guardian Life
Small Business Research Institute has projected that
women-owned businesses could create 5 million to 5.5
million new jobs across the United States by 2018 and
that women account for almost half of all new businesses,
generating one-third of the new jobs projected by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics
.16
According to American
Express, by 2013, nearly 7.8 million people were employed
by America’s women-owned businesses. When women-
owned businesses are combined with equally-owned
?rms (involving a woman partner), women entrepreneurs
are responsible for employing nearly 15.9 million
Americans in 2013.
17
As the boomers age into retirement, more and more late-
career women are also choosing to take the leap and start
their own business. Research by the Kauffman Foundation
says that “people aged 55 to 64 started 23.4% of all
new businesses in the US in 2012, up from 14.3% in
1996.”
18
These “encore entrepreneurs” are most often
women. Research released in 2011 by Babson College
and the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor found that
total entrepreneurial activity rates for late-career women
were higher than that for late-career men, with 10% of
women aged 55 to 64 involved in starting or running new
businesses compared with 7.5% of men.
19
According to
Babson, this has occurred despite the fact that only 26.9%
of women see entrepreneurship as a “good opportunity”
at this stage in their careers, compared to 33.4% of men.
Even with this gap in perceived opportunity, more than
half of women aged 55 to 64 feel that they have the
capability for entrepreneurship, representing a vast pool
of experienced, late-career female professionals who may
be looking to start a business given the right opportunity
and support.
Consequently, it makes a lot of sense for the economic
development community at the local, state, regional, and
national levels to pay attention to this new workforce.
According to Babson, this has occurred despite the
fact that only 26.9% of women see entrepreneurship
as a “good opportunity” at this stage in their careers,
compared to 33.4% of men. Even with this gap in
perceived opportunity, more than half of women
aged 55 to 64 feel that they have the capability
for entrepreneurship, representing a vast pool of
experienced, late-career female professionals who may
be looking to start a business given the right opportunity
and support.
P10 P10
Center for Women in Business
THE RANKS OF THE I NDEPENDENT
CONTRACTORS AND THE
SELF-EMPLOYED HAS GROWN BY
1,000,000
SINCE 2005
SELF-EMPLOYED EDUCATORS HAVE
I NCREASED BY NEARLY
55%
SINCE 2001
2.7 MILLION
WORK I N CONSTRUCTI ON AND
PERSONAL CARE
WITH ANNUAL SALES OF
$887 BILLION
AND ACCOUNT FOR OVER
$626 BILLION
IN INCOME
WHERE THE PERCENTAGE OF
PEOPLE WORKI NG FOR
THEMSELVES ROSE FROM
28%
TO
40%
BETWEEN 2005 AND 2010
2.9 MILLION
WORK I N MANAGEMENT, SALES,
AND FI NANCE.
20%
WORK I N
MANAGEMENT,
BUSI NESS
SERVI CES,
AND FI NANCE
10 MILLION
WORK I N FI ELDS SUCH AS ENERGY,
MI NI NG, REAL ESTATE, AND
CONSTRUCTI ON
THEY
CONSTITUTE
OVER
76%
OF THE NATI ONAL
LABOR FORCE
I NDEPENDENT
CONTRACTORS
MAKE UP
70%
OF AMERI CA’ S
27 MI LLI ON
COMPANI ES
P11 P11
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
1 Oregon 7% 45.4%
2 Texas 11% 44.5%
3 Utah 11% 44.5%
4 Washington 10% 44.4%
5 Nevada 26% 43.7%
6 New Mexico 3% 43.3%
7 Wyoming (4%) 43.2%
8 Maryland 9% 43.1%
9 Delaware (6%) 42.1%
10 Colorado 8% 41.9%
11 Arizona 25% 41.3%
12 Alaska (8%) 41.2%
13 Virginia 9% 41.0%
14 Rhode Island (1%) 40.5%
15 California 15% 40.4%
16 Massachusetts 11% 40.3%
17 Idaho 5% 40.2%
18 West Virginia (16%) 40.2%
19 Hawaii 7% 39.8%
20 Florida 21% 39.8%
21 New York 8% 39.4%
22 Michigan 3% 38.8%
23 Connecticut 9% 38.5%
? National Average 9% 38.2%
24 North Carolina 10% 38.0%
25 New Jersey 9% 37.9%
26 Illinois 7% 37.9%
27 Minnesota (1%) 37.8%
28 Indiana 0% 36.9%
29 Ohio (1%) 36.8%
30 Kansas 7% 36.6%
31 South Carolina 8% 36.3%
32 Georgia 10% 36.2%
33 Missouri 5% 36.1%
34 Montana (3%) 36.1%
35 Vermont 0% 35.8%
36 Tennessee 25% 35.8%
37 Iowa 2% 35.4%
38 Oklahoma (4%) 35.1%
39 Wisconsin 2% 35.0%
40 New Hampshire 12% 35.0%
41 Maine (2%) 34.8%
42 Nebraska (8%) 34.6%
43 Pennsylvania 3% 33.9%
44 Kentucky (10%) 33.7%
45 Alabama 5% 33.6%
46 South Dakota 9% 32.9%
47 Louisiana 7% 31.4%
48 Mississippi (5%) 31.2%
49 Arkansas (5%) 30.6%
50 North Dakota 4% 27.9%
figure 2:
Share of Female Self-Employed
Workers by State
As of 2013, most self-employed workers are men.
On average across the nation, women make up 38%
of workers considering self-employment to be their
main source of income. There are no states where
women make up 50% of the full-time self-employed
workforce, but women are approaching a balance in
a handful of western states where 45% of the self-
employed are women.
Women are most likely to be self-employed in
the Western states, led by the Paci?c Northwest.
Oregon ranks ?rst in the nation with 45.4% of its
self-employed workers being female and Washington
state comes in fourth. Although Texas ranks second
in the nation, the other top 7 states for self-employed
women are in the West: Utah, Nevada, New Mexico,
and Wyoming. In all, 11 of the top 17 states for female
entrepreneurs lie in a string of Western states from
Washington state to Texas.
Other pockets of high concentrations of self-
employed women include the Central Atlantic states
surrounding the nation’s capital—Maryland, Delaware,
Virginia, and West Virginia—and the southern half
of the Northeast: Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and
Connecticut. At 39.8% female, Florida ranks 20th
and is the only state in the Southeast with an above
average share of female self-employed.
More than half of women aged 55 to 64 feel that they
have the capability for entrepreneurship, representing
a vast pool of experienced, late-career female
professionals who may be looking to start a business
given the right opportunity and support.
20
Consequently, it makes a lot of sense for the
economic development community at the local, state,
regional, and national levels to pay attention to this
new workforce.
FEMALE % OF
SELF-EMPLOYED
RANK STATE
2001–2013 % CHANGE I N
TOTAL SELF-EMPLOYED
Figure 2 shows a wide variation in the concentration of
female self-employed workers among states and a 17 point
difference between Oregon, ranked ?rst, and North Dakota,
ranked last.
Figure 3 shows the geographic makeup of female
self-employed.
THE GEOGRAPHY
of
SELF-EMPLOYED
WOMEN
P12 P12
Center for Women in Business
P13
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
figure 3:
SHARE OF FULL-TIME SELF-EMPLOYED
WORKERS WHO ARE FEMALE, 2013
The states with the lowest share of female self-employed are in the central states, particularly the Upper
Great Plains. North Dakota ranks 50th with less than 28% of its self-employed workers being female; South
Dakota ranks 46th. The southeast region also has lower numbers of self-employed women, with Kentucky,
Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas ranking 44th or lower.
HIGHER THAN AVERAGE
< 39.8
< 40.4
< 41.3
LOWER THAN AVERAGE
< 38.2
< 36.8
< 36.1
< 43.2
< 44.5
> or = 44.5
< 35
< 33.7
< 30.6
THE GEOGRAPHY
of
SELF-EMPLOYED
WOMEN
P13
1 Nebraska (13%) 93.3%
2 North Dakota (10%) 92.5%
3 Wyoming 0% 90.5%
4 Minnesota (15%) 86.6%
5 Virginia 2% 85.9%
? Nation 10% 76.7%
46 Alabama 15% 69.6%
47 South Dakota 14% 67.8%
48 New Jersey 15% 67.7%
49 Hawaii (7%) 66.6%
50 Pennsylvania 12% 65.2%
1 Connecticut 31% 75.7%
2 Indiana 6% 74.8%
3 Washington 13% 74.4%
4 Texas 27% 74.2%
5 Utah 27% 74.2%
? Nation 17% 68.2%
46 Mississippi (9%) 61.7%
47 New Hampshire (4%) 61.3%
48 Vermont (1%) 59.3%
49 North Dakota 31% 56.5%
50 Illinois 21% 52.7%
P14
SELF-EMPLOYED WOMEN BY
INDUSTRY AND OCCUPATION
Figure 4 illustrates how the variation between states
is even more acute at the speci?c industry level.
figure 4:
TOP AND BOTTOM STATES FOR FEMALE
SELF-EMPLOYED WORKERS BY I NDUSTRY
FEMALE % OF
SELF-EMPLOYED
FEMALE % OF
SELF-EMPLOYED
RANK
RANK
STATE
STATE
2001–2013 % CHANGE I N
TOTAL SELF-EMPLOYED
2001–2013 % CHANGE I N
TOTAL SELF-EMPLOYED
HEALTH CARE AND SOCIAL ASSISTANCE
OTHER SERVICES
P14
Center for Women in Business
1 Alaska (13%) 66.3%
2 Delaware 4% 63.7%
3 New Mexico (8%) 60.5%
4 West Virginia (11%) 58.8%
5 Idaho 29% 58.3%
? Nation (12%) 46.3%
46 North Carolina (9%) 42.3%
47 Kentucky (11%) 42.2%
48 New Jersey (27%) 41.3%
49 Arkansas 13% 38.6%
50 New York 9% 36.4%
1 Iowa 18% 63.1%
2 West Virginia (7%) 58%
3 Nebraska 23% 57.1%
4 New Mexico (54%) 52.1%
5 Rhode Island (19%) 50.9%
? Nation 24% 34.6%
46 Arizona (2%) 23.1%
47 South Carolina (26%) 21.2%
48 Nevada 85% 21%
49 Louisiana (12%) 18.2%
50 Kansas (16%) 14.2%
1 Wyoming 10% 46%
2 Colorado 24% 42.6%
3 Delaware (28%) 41.8%
4 Idaho 7% 41.6%
5 Maine 28% 41%
? Nation 14% 35.7%
46 Indiana 17% 29.7%
47 Alabama 8% 29.5%
48 Mississippi 8% 28.4%
49 North Dakota 3% 26.7%
50 Vermont (1%) 25.6%
P15
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
FEMALE % OF
SELF-EMPLOYED
FEMALE % OF
SELF-EMPLOYED
FEMALE % OF
SELF-EMPLOYED
RANK
RANK
RANK
STATE
STATE
STATE
2001–2013 % CHANGE I N
TOTAL SELF-EMPLOYED
2001–2013 % CHANGE I N
TOTAL SELF-EMPLOYED
2001–2013 % CHANGE I N
TOTAL SELF-EMPLOYED
RETAIL
COMMUNICATION
PROFESSIONAL, TECHNICAL,
AND BUSINESS SERVICES
P15
OTHER SERVI CES
The “other services” sector contains the largest segment
of female self-employed workers, numbering nearly
1.1 million. This sector contains the large personal care
industry along with workers employed by households and
many other miscellaneous personal care services. More
than 68% of the self-employed workers in this sector are
women. Connecticut leads the way in this sector with
self-employed women making up 75% of workers in this
category, while Illinois is last with just more than 50%.
HEALTH CARE AND SOCI AL
ASSI STANCE
Nebraska and North Dakota are near the bottom overall
in the share of self-employed women; yet in each of
these states women dominate self-employed health care
workers at more than 90%. South Dakota ranks 47th,
with women making up more than two-thirds of its self-
employed health care industry.
PROFESSI ONAL, TECHNI CAL,
AND BUSI NESS SERVI CES
The professional, technical, and business services sector
is an important high-wage group of self-employment
industries, containing legal and accounting, architecture
and design, research and development, and computer
and information technology services. Just 36% of the
self-employed in these sectors are female, but there is
a strong group of female professional services workers
in the Mountain West states of Wyoming, Colorado,
and Idaho. In these states, self-employed women in
professional services comprise more than 40%.
RETAI L
The retail industry is in transition. Retail offers self-
employment to about 650,000 Americans, of which
some 47% are women. Self-employed women dominate
a number of retail sectors, including direct sales; ?orists;
clothing; stationary and gifts; used merchandise; health
and personal care; jewelry, luggage, and leather goods;
and electronic shopping and mail order. Female self-
employed retailers are most common in Alaska, where
they make up 66% of overall self-employed retailers and
least common in New York, where they comprise 36%.
COMMUNI CATI ON
Self-employment in the communication sector is up
24% since 2001. This broad sector covers all areas of
publishing—including news, books, periodicals, and the
Internet—along with broadcast journalism, ?lm making,
software publishing, and telecommunications. There are
about 6,500 self-employed Internet publishers in the
nation, averaging about $45,000 in earnings per year.
Thirty-?ve percent of these web publishers are women.
Slightly less than half of the nation’s wage and salary
employees are women, yet women comprise just 38% of
full-time self-employed workers. This translates to a self-
employment rate of 8% for men and 5.2% for women. The
share of self-employed women varies across industries,
with women dominating self-employed health care and
social assistance workers, education, and the catch-all
category of other services, which includes personal care
and those working for private households. Women make
up relatively few of the nation’s self-employed workers
in construction; mining, quarrying, and oil and gas
extraction; and transportation and warehousing.
49.6%
SLI GHTLY
LESS THAN
HALF OF THE
NATI ON’ S WAGE
AND SALARY
EMPLOYEES ARE
WOMEN
WOMEN
COMPRI SE JUST
38%
OF FULL-TI ME
SELF-EMPLOYED
WORKERS.
THE SHARE OF SELF-EMPLOYED WOMEN
VARI ES ACROSS I NDUSTRI ES:
HEALTH CARE AND
SOCI AL ASSI STANCE
WORKERS
EDUCATI ON
OTHER SERVI CES
CONSTRUCTI ON
MI NI NG, QUARRYI NG,
OI L, AND GAS
EXTRACTI ON
TRANSPORTATI ON
AND WAREHOUSI NG
77%
69%
68%
6%
8%
9%
YET
P16 P16
Center for Women in Business
figure 5:
TOP AND BOTTOM STATES FOR FEMALE
SELF-EMPLOYED WORKERS BY I NDUSTRY
Other Services (except Public Administration) 1,575,469 17% $15,677 1,074,003 68%
Health Care and Social Assistance 873,356 0% $39,161 670,046 77%
Professional, Technical, and Business Services 1,147,475 14% $39,082 409,208 36%
Administrative, Support, Waste Management, 943,125 46% $17,941 313,853 33%
and Remediation Services
Retail 649,591 (12%) $23,076 301,062 46%
Real Estate, Rental, and Leasing 437,248 8% $28,616 201,717 46%
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation 425,619 25% $18,775 184,635 43%
Private Educational Services 235,265 73% $17,601 161,552 69%
Construction 1,814,218 9% $21,240 103,985 6%
Accommodation and Food Services 216,089 12% $20,820 92,843 43%
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting 541,004 (19%) $24,168 89,548 17%
Finance and Insurance 253,650 (24%) $43,319 56,936 22%
Manufacturing 205,384 (23%) $37,420 50,824 25%
Information 130,476 24% $31,473 45,193 35%
Transportation and Warehousing 379,418 18% $29,099 34,444 9%
Wholesale Trade 159,637 (21%) $35,082 26,940 17%
Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction 15,562 26% $46,618 1,240 8%
Total 10,002,586 9% $25,649 3,818,030 38%
Source: EMSI 2013.4 Class of Worker –Self-Employed Note: The government, utilities, and management of companies industry sectors
contain no full-time self-employed workers. These sectors are excluded from the table.
2013 WAGES SALARI ES &
PROPRI ETOR EARNI NGS
I NDUSTRY
2013 SELF-EMPLOYED
WORKERS
2001-2013
CHANGE
FEMALE SELF-
EMPLOYED
FEMALE
HEALTH CARE
AND SOCI AL
ASSI STANCE
EDUCATI ON CONSTRUCTI ON MI NI NG, QUARRYI NG,
OI L, AND GAS
EXTRACTI ON
77% 69% 6% 8%
Figure 5 shows female self-employed workers broken down by industry. The government, utilities, and company management
industry sectors contain no full-time self-employed workers. These sectors are excluded from the table.
P17
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
P17
DESCRI PTI ON
FEMALE
WORKERS
%
FEMALE
FEMALE
SELF-EMPLOYED
% FEMALE
FEMALE SELF-
EMPLOYMENT
RATE
2001-2013
GROWTH OF
SELF-EMPLOYED
MEDI AN
HOURLY
EARNI NGS
Personal Appearance
Workers
434,822 89% 376,004 89% 46.4% 30% $10.93
Artists and Design
Workers
245,152 48% 152,559 60% 38.4% 2% $21.68
Media and
Communication
Equipment Workers
56,603 26% 31,047 32% 35.4% 38% $19.73
Other Sales and Related
Workers
484,394 56% 230,698 58% 32.3% 3% $17.21
Supervisors of Personal
Care and Service
Workers
96,221 54% 38,415 74% 28.5% 18% $17.80
Animal Care and Service
Workers
122,268 69% 42,007 62% 25.6% 30% $9.69
Media and
Communication Workers
315,781 55% 92,854 55% 22.7% 34% $24.40
Other Personal Care and
Service Workers
2,225,303 78% 643,112 91% 22.4% 13% $10.22
Social Scientists and
Related Workers
135,589 56% 38,989 66% 22.3% 22% $33.76
Building Cleaning and
Pest Control Workers
1,912,336 53% 467,649 80% 19.6% 26% $10.37
Construction Trades
Workers
197,270 5% 46,233 4% 19.0% 16% $19.12
Other Management
Occupations
1,014,421 46% 216,849 20% 17.6% (3%) $39.75
Entertainers and
Performers, Sports and
Related Workers
264,606 44% 53,973 30% 16.9% 32% $20.33
Grounds Maintenance
Workers
155,891 16% 28,218 8% 15.3% 69% $11.61
Supervisors of Sales
Workerst
673,748 45% 118,278 32% 14.9% (15%) $20.40
figure 6:
U. S. SELF-EMPLOYED WORKERS BY OCCUPATION CATEGORY
The highest median hourly
earnings go to lawyers,
judges, and related
workers.
The lowest median hourly
earnings go to animal care
and service workers.
Between 200–2013 self-
employment has risen
highest with grounds
maintenance workers.
$53.
49
$9.
69
69%
Figure 6 shows U.S. self-employed workers by occupation. Occupations are listed from the highest rate
of female self-employment to the lowest.
P18
Center for Women in Business
P18
DESCRI PTI ON
FEMALE
WORKERS
%
FEMALE
FEMALE
SELF-EMPLOYED
% FEMALE
FEMALE SELF-
EMPLOYMENT
RATE
2001-2013
GROWTH OF
SELF-EMPLOYED
MEDI AN
HOURLY
EARNI NGS
Supervisors of Building
and Grounds Cleaning
and Maintenance
Workers
93,706 34% 16,232 18% 14.8% 31% $18.16
Other Teachers and
Instructors
825,724 69% 127,902 72% 13.4% 62% $15.99
Lawyers, Judges, and
Related Workers
260,066 40% 35,689 19% 12.1% 0% $53.49
Supervisors of
Construction and
Extraction Workers
32,070 7% 4,231 3% 11.7% (30%) $28.70
Architects, Surveyors,
and Cartographers
33,140 21% 4,024 13% 10.8% (11%) $31.96
Textile, Apparel, and
Furnishings Workers
367,646 64% 44,071 57% 10.7% (8%) $10.85
Legal Support Workers 297,952 75% 23,649 75% 7.4% 8% $22.67
Tour and Travel Guides 19,634 53% 1,414 16% 6.7% 24% $11.89
Other Health Care
Support Occupations
1,258,035 88% 73,017 90% 5.5% 26% $14.82
Financial Specialists 1,319,769 52% 71,603 32% 5.1% (12%) $30.30
Sales Representatives,
Services
866,005 45% 44,434 25% 4.9% (9%) $25.36
Business Operations
Specialists
2,201,587 52% 86,037 34% 3.8% 40% $30.13
Motor Vehicle Operators 541,032 15% 19,825 6% 3.5% 13% $15.50
Forest, Conservation,
and Logging Workers
4,180 8% 152 1% 3.5% (21%) $14.92
Advertising, Marketing,
Promotions, Public
Relations, and Sales
Managers
257,069 41% 8,142 31% 3.1% 35% $51.75
Source: EMSI 2013.4 Class of Worker –Self-Employed
Jobs in personal
appearance boast the
highest percentage of
female workers.
Construction trades have
the lowest percentage
of female workers.
Between 2001–2013 self-
employment has grown
the least with supervisors
of construction and
extraction workers.
89% 5% –30%
P19
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
P19
OCCUPATI ON 2001-2013 % CHANGE MEDI AN HOURLY EARNI NGS FEMALE SELF-EMPLOYED FEMALE %
Management
Analysts
54% $27.99 51,449 32%
Accountants and
Auditors
(10%) $26.42 42,651 40%
Psychologists 22% $32.81 37,321 68%
Lawyers and
Judicial Law Clerks
0% $37.55 35,625 19%
Therapists 37% $29.60 33,867 83%
Counselors 61% $20.61 28,104 79%
Insurance Sales
Agents
7% $21.16 23,587 23%
Registered Nurses 3% $20.63 17,513 89%
Miscellaneous Legal
Support Workers
18% $23.84 16,704 80%
Physicians and
Surgeons
(7%) $69.65 12,334 17%
Software
Developers and
Programmers
37% $23.28 12,179 19%
Social Workers 35% $21.09 11,744 88%
Tax Examiners,
Collectors and
Preparers, and
Revenue Agents
15% $21.33 10,707 41%
Sales
Representatives,
Wholesale and
Manufacturing
(22%) $20.90 9,764 15%
Market Research
Analysts and
Marketing
Specialists
82% $26.33 9,586 47%
figure 7:
HIGH-WAGE SELF-EMPLOYED OCCUPATION CATEGORIES
Source: EMSI 2013.4 Class of Worker–Self-Employed
Figure 7 lists occupations paying more than $20 per hour with the largest numbers of female
self-employed workers.
P20 P20
Center for Women in Business
Eighty-nine percent of the nation’s personal
appearance workers are women, and 46.4% are self-
employed, the highest female self-employment rate of
all the occupations included in this report. The female
self-employment rate is also high among art and design
workers (38.4%), media and communication equipment
workers (35.4%), and other sales and related workers
(32.3%).
Personal care and health care work cannot be
outsourced, and continued population growth across
the nation is likely to drive demand for this type of
work, including for the self-employed. However, self-
employment is a growing trend in many higher-wage
occupations as well.
Self-employed women dominate many occupations
involving person-person work, such as psychologists,
therapists, counselors, nurses, and social workers. Yet
many other self-employed occupation groups remain
heavily male, particularly business services, physicians,
and software developers.
89%
OF THE
NATI ON’ S
PERSONAL
APPEARANCE
WORKERS ARE
WOMEN
46.4%
OF FEMALE
PERSONAL
APPEARANCE
WORKERS ARE
SELF-EMPLOYED
HI GHEST FEMALE SELF-EMPLOYMENT RATES:
PERSONAL
APPEARANCE
ART AND DESI GN
MEDI A AND
COMMUNI CATI ON
EQUI PMENT
OTHER SALES
AND RELATED
46.4%
38.4%
35.4%
32.3%
P21 P21
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
P22
ADVANCING WOMEN’ S BUSINESS
STARTUP, GROWTH, AND
LEADERSHIP CAPABILITIES
Taking this information into account is imperative when it
comes to creating programs that support America’ s women
entrepreneurs and small business owners.
The following six innovative policy and program
approaches that are being deployed successfully to
create and expand women-owned small businesses,
often by or in cooperation with local and regional
development organizations. In most cases, the
programs that are highlighted employ one or more of
the following six best practices:
ADVOCACY ON WOMEN’ S
BUSI NESS I SSUES
Programs raise awareness of government policy or
regulatory roadblocks and barriers, assist in capital
access, address business issues of particular concern to
women, and share best practices for advancing women’s
businesses.
• The National Association of Women Business Owners
(NAWBO) builds strategic alliances, coalitions, and
af?liations to transform public policy and in?uence
opinion makers.
• The National Women’s Business Council published the
“Best Practices in Supporting Women’s Entrepreneurship:
A Compendium of Public and Private Sector
Organizations and Initiatives.
21
• The National Center for Women & Information
Technology (NCWIT) in Boulder, Colorado, raises
awareness about the need for and value of more women
in computing and IT while promoting IT careers to female
high school students.
• San Antonio’s city government includes women
business owners on its Small Business Advisory
Committee, ensuring that their voice is heard on issues
impacting small business and female entrepreneurs
in the city.
NETWORKI NG
Programs provide online exchanges, face-to-face
meetings, or event-based programs to help women build
informal and formal networks with other businesses.
These networks help women ?nd potential employers or
employees and contracting opportunities.
• The Women’s Business Enterprise Council (WBENC)
provides formal MatchMaker programs connecting
Corporate Members to WBENC-Certi?ed Women’s
Business Enterprises (WBEs). These programs are
designed to connect the two groups to speci?cally
discuss potential business and sourcing opportunities.
• The Salt Lake Chamber Women’s Business Center
works with the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce
to connect new and aspiring female entrepreneurs
to networking opportunities with existing chamber
members, providing ?edgling entrepreneurs with access
to potential clients, partners, and mentors.
• Kansas City’s Athena League and Central Exchange
offer networking opportunities for female entrepreneurs
and professionals at all stages of their careers.
BUSI NESS MANAGEMENT
ASSI STANCE AND SUPPORT
Programs include comprehensive training and counseling
on a variety of topics, including strategic planning, business
plan assistance and competitions, and access to interns.
• The Women’s Business Centers (WBCs) represent
a national network of nearly 100 educational centers
throughout the United States and its territories, which
help women in starting and growing small businesses.
WBCs seek to level the playing ?eld for women
entrepreneurs, who face unique obstacles in the
business world.
Six best practices for creating female entrepreneurship programs:
P22
Center for Women in Business
P23
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
• Pittsburgh’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Center at
Chatham University offers women business owners
access to informal board guidance and mentoring
through its “MyBoard” program. Consultations include
business planning, ?nancial counseling, technology and
operational support, and other guidance tailored to the
needs of the entrepreneur.
• Business Empowerment San Antonio provides women
interested in starting or growing a business with access to
support services and classes, including a “Small Business
Education Boot Camp” designed to teach entrepreneurs
the basics of running a business.
ACCESS TO CONTRACTS
Programs include incentives for contracting with women,
including set-asides and preference criteria.
• The federal government set a goal in 1994 of awarding
at least 5% of the total value of eligible contracts to
women-owned businesses.
22
• Large companies offer set-aside opportunities, partially
because of their own commitment to creating diversity in
the marketplace and their employment base. Sometimes,
these companies are federal or state contractors
mandated by government agencies to allocate certain
amounts of business to minority- or women-owned ?rms.
• The Pittsburgh metro area’s Allegheny County has set
goals for contracts awarded to minority- and women-
owned businesses, and requests that contractors make
good-faith efforts to award contracts to such businesses.
• San Antonio and Bexar County, Texas, have committed
to contracting with women-owned businesses in
procurement and service contracts.
LEADERSHI P DEVELOPMENT
AND MENTORI NG
Programs focus on developing women’s entrepreneurial
leadership skills through events that encourage networking
and sharing of innovative strategies. These types of
programs help women advance their personal and
professional leadership and improve business performance.
• The Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership
at Babson College in the Boston Metro area focuses
on “investigating, educating, and celebrating women
entrepreneurial leaders of all kinds.” The center hopes
to be a leader in women’s entrepreneurial research and
offers programs designed to help aspiring and new
female entrepreneurs, including the Women Innovating
Now Lab (WIN Lab). WIN Lab gives select students
access to entrepreneurship training and mentoring
needed to launch entrepreneurial ventures upon
graduation.
• Kansas City’s Central Exchange focuses on providing
female professionals with leadership training and
professional development opportunities.
ACCESS TO CAPI TAL
Programs educate and support women business owners in
accessing capital, including instruction on understanding
and evaluating funding sources and creating a strong
case for ?nancing or equity capital. Programs also include
?nancing or investment funds speci?cally for women-
owned businesses.
• Women Accessing Capital is a national program
designed to educate women business owners on all steps
of accessing capital. Courses provide the necessary tools
to competitively seek the appropriate type of funding,
obtain capital, and manage a ?nanced ?rm.
• OneKC for Women in Kansas City provides women-
owned businesses access to angel investment networks
focused on funding women-led startups.
• San Antonio’s Accion Texas works to provide small
businesses, including women-owned small businesses,
with access to microlending services and capital support
that they may not otherwise be able to ?nd.
• The Women’s Venture Capital Fund capitalizes on
the expanding pipeline of women entrepreneurs leading
gender diverse teams, helping them create capital
ef?cient, high-growth companies in digital media and
sustainable products and services.
Six best practices for creating female entrepreneurship programs:
Advocacy
on Women’s
Business Issues
Business
Management
Assistance and
Support
Leadership
Development
and Mentoring
Networking Access to
Contracts
Access
to Capital
P23
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
P24
CULTIVATING FEMALE
ENTREPRENEURS:
EXAMPLES
in
ACTION
Many local, state, and national agencies work to improve the environment
for women entrepreneurs and business owners. This report features five
examples of efforts under way to assist women looking to start a business:
PART 2
NCWIT is working nationally to improve
educational, career, and entrepreneurial
opportunities for women in science and
technology.
The communities and programs highlighted, located
in states and regions with varying rates of women’s
entrepreneurship, have either already experienced
success in supporting women’s entrepreneurship
and are looking to build on existing strengths or are
working to increase women’s entrepreneurship and
leadership in particular communities and industries
needing improvement. Regardless of their location, the
communities and programs featured in this report are
examples of engaged stakeholders in the public, private,
nonpro?t, and educational sectors coming together to
support women-owned businesses and to help them
grow and thrive.
1
P24
Center for Women in Business
P25
Pittsburgh’s Center for Women Entrepreneurs is bringing
together foundation and educational assets to support
the development of new women entrepreneurs.
4
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
A multiagency program in Kansas City is working to
support local female entrepreneurs.
2
A strong local chamber of commerce in Salt Lake City
leads a collaborative to help women business owners.
3
City government and nonpro?t sector partners in San
Antonio are committed to building a “culture of business”
to support women’s entrepreneurship.
5
P25
P26
STRENGTHENI NG THE EDUCATI ONAL
PI PELI NE WI TH TOMORROW’ S
FEMALE TECHNOLOGI STS
Projected to gain nearly 1.4 million jobs through 2020,
information technology is one of the fastest-growing
sectors of the U.S. economy. With advanced technologies
in ever-increasing demand, the IT industry is one of
the key sources of innovation and ideas behind high-
growth, entrepreneurial companies. While demand for
professionals to ?ll computing and technology positions
is high, women remain an “untapped talent pool,”
23
receiving only 18% of computing-related bachelor’s
degrees in the United States.
The National Center for Women & Information
Technology (NCWIT) was founded in 2004 through
a grant from the National Science Foundation and
partnerships with industry and academic sector
stakeholders. Comprised of over 500 corporations,
academic institutions, government agencies, and non-
pro?ts, NCWIT is a community of “change leaders” taking
action to more effectively recruit, retain, and advance
women in technology.
Starting at the middle and high school level, NCWIT
identi?es talented young women interested in pursuing a
career in computing and technology, giving them access
to networking and educational opportunities to keep
them on a path toward educational success. The NCWIT
Aspirations in Computing initiative (aspirations.org),
launched in 2007, provides encouragement, visibility, and
a sense of community to thousands of young women as
they strive to enter a largely male-dominated ?eld. By
connecting these talented young women through meet-
ups and gatherings, and providing them with internships,
leadership, and scholarship opportunities, the Aspirations
in Computing initiative expands and strengthens the
pipeline with young women interested in pursuing
degrees in computing and technology.
NCWIT also works with colleges and universities through
its active Extension Services program,
24
helping
undergraduate programs in computing and technology
build “capacity for reaching gender parity.” Extension
Services consultants work with computing faculty
to reform departmental culture, attract more female
students, and implement practices to retain them. Since
2008, more than 50 colleges and universities have taken
part in the program, with many making solid progress
towards creating a more inclusive environment.
FROM EDUCATI ON TO
ENTREPRENEURS
Bringing women into college computing and technology
programs also spurs entrepreneurship and innovation.
NCWIT’s efforts acknowledge that “in order to get
women into technology startups, ?rst we have to get
them into college technology programs.” By establishing
an increased supply of female technology graduates
from college programs around the nation, NCWIT and
its members create a female talent pool for technology
startups. While NCWIT is not an incubator, it is “trying
to create a pipeline of women with experience in tech
startups,” by raising the visibility of entrepreneurial job
paths and the bene?ts of working in startups.
25
NATIONAL CENTER FOR WOMEN &
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Information technology is
projected to gain nearly 1.4
million jobs through 2020.
NCWIT works to identify talented
young women and give them
access to networking and
educational opportunities.
The center’s Entrepreneurial
Alliance includes 75 companies
focused on placing women in
tech jobs, and positioning them
to succeed in their careers.
2020
P26
Center for Women in Business
P27
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
As the backbone of this entrepreneurial focus, NCWIT created its
Entrepreneurial Alliance. The Alliance, comprising more than 90 companies,
encourages progressive startup technology companies to include women in
their ?rst technical and computing hires. This increases the possibility of an
inclusive culture from the beginning and helps young companies bene?t from
the diverse technical contributions of women as collaborators and creators
of new technology. Additionally, women hired by startups are able to gain
invaluable experience in the process of building a new company, creating a
pool of women with the ability and innovative spirit needed to launch their own
companies.
The Entrepreneurial Alliance also works with venture capitalists to address
the issues that women entrepreneurs have in gaining access to venture capital
for their companies. Many venture capital networks, largely run and invested
in by men, may overlook women-launched companies, creating a challenging
situation for female technology entrepreneurs. By bringing venture capitalists
and female investors into the network at an early stage, NCWIT works to cut
down on barriers to funding as women in technology graduate from working
for startups to creating their own.
Building awareness is also a major focus of NCWIT’s efforts. The initiative
provides research and data that makes clear the value women and greater
diversity can bring to computing and information technology ?elds. As part of
this effort, NCWIT provides organizations with free tools designed to create
change within their organization, supporting their efforts to recruit, retain, and
advance more women in technical ?elds.
NCWIT also raises the pro?le of notable female innovators and entrepreneurs
through its Entrepreneurial Heroes series
26
and Symons Innovator Award.
Sponsored by NCWIT’s Entrepreneurial Alliance, NCWIT Heroes is a series
of podcasts in which successful, creative, and technical women discuss how
they ?rst got involved with technology, why they chose to be entrepreneurs,
and what advice they would give to young people interested in IT or
entrepreneurship. The Symons Innovator Award, named in honor of the late
serial-technology entrepreneur Jeanette Symons, recognizes an NCWIT Hero
who has successfully built their own successful IT businesses, increasing
“awareness about the importance of women’s participation in IT innovation and
business.”
27
As part of its efforts to increase women’s involvement in computing,
particularly in business settings, NCWIT and the Entrepreneurial Alliance
started a Pacesetters Program. This initiative brings together entrepreneurs,
business leaders, and educators to work together across corporate and
academic boundaries, while committing to increase their organization’s number
of technical women at an accelerated pace.
28
Through this collaboration,
the program identi?es best practice models to accelerate women’s entry to
computing and technical ?elds, sharing these practices and strategies with
companies and institutions interested in setting action goals for hiring and
educating female technologists. The program seeks to bring net new women
into computing, educating and hiring technical women who otherwise might
not have pursued or remained in computing careers,
29
and creating a larger
universe of highly educated, entrepreneurial female technologists.
AN ROI FOR DI VERSI TY
According to research compiled by NCWIT, companies that embrace a
more diverse workforce enjoy a return on investment
30
by adopting a more
inclusive hiring culture. Teams made up of men and women are more open to
experimentation and knowledge sharing, perform tasks more effectively, and
often outperform less diverse teams.
31
With women making up only 25% of
the professional IT workforce (compared with 57% of the overall professional
workforce), there is much ground to be made up, but much potential upside for
companies willing to make the effort to embrace diversity.
MORE THAN
50
UNIVERSITIES AND
COLLEGES HAVE
TAKEN PART IN
NCWIT’ S EXTENSION
SERVICES PROGRAM
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY IS
PROJECTED TO GAIN
NEARLY
1.4
MILLION JOBS
THROUGH 2020
WOMEN MAKE UP ONLY
25%
OF THE
PROFESSIONAL IT
WORKFORCE
P27
P28
DEVELOPI NG NETWORKS, BUI LDI NG
PARTNERSHI PS, AND WORKI NG
COLLABORATI VELY
The Kansas City area has a long tradition of embracing
innovative approaches to entrepreneurship development.
As the home of the Kauffman Foundation, one of the
nation’s largest private foundations and its explicit focus
on entrepreneurship and education, the Kansas City
metropolitan area serves as a proving ground for new
ideas, approaches, and pilot programs aimed at spurring
business creation and bolstering entrepreneurial activity.
Kansas City’s drive to jump-start women’s
entrepreneurship is no exception, with the metropolitan
area boasting several innovative and collaborative
programs and partnerships explicitly designed to help
women start and grow businesses and create jobs. The
region’s strong support structures have created an
environment where the “entrepreneur space is being
seeded and invested in by many groups,”
32
providing
multiple points of network access for aspiring female
entrepreneurs and a wide array of opportunities for
partnership and interagency collaboration.
Beyond foundational champions, the city and business
community in the Kansas City metro area embrace
entrepreneurship and women-owned businesses as tools
for increasing regional economic vitality. The Kansas
City Chamber has set making Kansas City “America’s
Most Entrepreneurial City” as one of its “Big 5” goals
for economic development. As part of this effort, local
business leaders have committed to hiring project
leadership and partnering with the Kauffman Foundation
and UMKC’s Bloch School of Management to identify
and act on the needs of local small businesses, including
female entrepreneurs.
33
Mayor Sly James of Kansas City, Missouri
34
is an advocate
for increased women’s entrepreneurship, working
with other regional partners to launch a Women’s
Empowerment (WE) initiative in the city focused on
making “Kansas City an ideal place for women to live and
to do business.” As part of this WE initiative, the mayor
and community partners hope to examine the way the
city does business and interacts with women in order to
address the underrepresentation of women in business
and leadership in the community and “develop a blueprint
of strategies” to make Kansas City’s government a
“conduit of success” for women in the city.
35
ALI GNI NG EFFORTS
To make better use of its resources in promoting women’s
entrepreneurship, regional stakeholders came together
to create OneKC for Women. Launched in 2009, OneKC
for Women is an alliance of organizations focused on
providing career and business support services to women
in the Kansas City community. The alliance consists of the
Women’s Employment Network, the Women’s Business
Center, and the Women’s Capital Connection. By bringing
together groups focused on helping low income women
and entrepreneurs, as well as and providing access to
investment capital, OneKC for Women offers a one-
stop shop, giving services to women at all stages of the
professional and business development process.
OneKC for Women also works with a network of
partner organizations, including high-pro?le nonpro?ts
such as the Kauffman Foundation, to connect female
entrepreneurs to a strong network of support services
and other useful resources. OneKC for Women
offers female entrepreneurs a variety of services and
opportunities for enrichment, including educational
seminars, mentoring, and access to angel investment
networks. The program also works with the Kauffman
KANSAS CITY
Central Exchange, a Kansas
City women’s development
organization, was established
in 1978.
The region has a long tradition of
entrepreneurial development.
The organization supports
women-owned businesses with
revenue from $250,000 to
$1 million.
$250K
$1M
P28
Center for Women in Business
P29
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
Foundation to offer female business owners in-depth training thorough
its FastTrac NewVenture classes, helping new entrepreneurs test the
feasibility of business concepts before launch.
36
The Kansas City region’s emphasis on entrepreneurship is part of its larger
goal of attracting more young women professionals to the area. One new
initiative, the Athena League, brings together young female entrepreneurs
and established business community leaders to offer support, mentoring,
and inspiration to “aspiring and established female entrepreneurs” in the
Kansas City metro area. A central goal of the group is to give women
interested in entrepreneurship “a safe place where they can network and
where they can bond with people who look and sound like them.”
37
TAKI NG THE NEXT STEP
While foundational support and local leadership have created a
situation where “Kansas City is ripe with entrepreneurial resources,”
local women’s entrepreneurship champions still see gaps in need of
increased focus and are working to address them. While the metro area
has “many, many resources for startups,” there can sometimes be a lack
of support mechanisms for established businesses, including women-
owned businesses, according to CiCi Rojas, CEO of Central Exchange, a
Kansas City organization focused on women’s leadership, business, and
professional development. Rojas and Central Exchange have, among
their other initiatives, focused on offering support to “broadening
entrepreneurs.” These are women-owned businesses with revenue in the
$250,000 to $1 million range, in need of support and guidance to take the
next steps toward growth and expansion.
Established in 1978, Central Exchange has more than 1,100 members
including entrepreneurs, local leaders, and young professionals.
Entrepreneurs make up the fastest-growing segment of the organization’s
membership base, as more women launch ventures and seek venues for
“meaningful networking” and professional development. With partners
including the regional chamber and Women’s Business Development
Center, Central Exchange is “investing more time and effort in that
space,” working to help already established female entrepreneurs move
to the next level by providing opportunities for networking and access
to regional business leaders and resources. Looking to further the
development a culture friendly to women business leaders in the region,
the organization launched a “win|win” campaign. The win|win initiative,
supported by multiple public and private sector sponsors, promotes
the development of work environments that actively advocate for “the
development and advancement of women,” including at the board level.
Companies and organizations that support the campaign pledge to
embrace the initiative’s goals and share best practices for implementing a
female-friendly business leadership culture.
BUI LDI NG ON A STRONG FOUNDATI ON
With the leadership of the Kauffman Foundation, local government
of?cials, and business leaders, along with the strong regional support for
women’s entrepreneurship, the Kansas City region has a solid foundation
for continued growth in women-owned business. However, even with the
“bigger spotlight” provided by Kauffman and the added tools it brings to
bear, building awareness remains a key part of the formula for making full
use of the region’s new partnerships and deep resources. By shining a light
on the value that women-owned business can bring to the economic table,
local advocates plan to ensure that female innovators and leaders play a
key role in making Kansas City one of the most entrepreneurship-friendly
cities in the nation.
CENTRAL EXCHANGE HAS
MORE THAN
1,100
MEMBERS
THE KANSAS CITY
CHAMBER HAS SET
MAKING KANSAS CITY
“AMERICA’ S MOST
ENTREPRENEURIAL CITY”
AS ONE OF ITS
“BIG 5”
GOALS FOR ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
P29
BUI LDI NG A PUBLI C- PRI VATE
PARTNERSHI P TO SUPPORT WOMEN’ S
ENTREPRENEURSHI P
The Salt Lake Chamber Women’s Business Center
(WBC) in Salt Lake City, Utah, is one of a national
network of nearly 100 such centers around the nation
supported by the Small Business Administration (SBA)
and “designed to assist women in starting and growing
small businesses.”
37
However, unlike many such centers,
the WBC is operated as a nonpro?t organization within
the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, giving it access
to a unique set of tools and resources to aid female
entrepreneurs.
AN EXPANDED TOOLBOX
According to Ann Marie Thompson, program director
at the Women’s Business Center, this organizational
structure enables the WBC to integrate its efforts into
those championed by the existing business community
of Salt Lake City and Utah, providing women business
owners with an expanded range of options and
opportunities. Women participating in WBC programs
are not required to be chamber members but are able to
bene?t from the af?liation.
While the WBC offers a variety of services common
to many national Women’s Business Centers, being
located at a chamber gives the WBC staff and program
participants access to multiple resources, including
opportunities to meet and network with established
chamber business members. By plugging new female
entrepreneurs into chamber events and connections,
the WBC can help businesses identify potential partners
and access existing business networks. Existing
businesspeople tend to “buy from people they know,”
which makes networking opportunities for new women-
owned businesses with existing businesses all the more
valuable in getting up and running.
39
Being located in a relatively unique junction between
the public and private sectors also allows the Women’s
Business Center to expand the range of offerings to
program participants and magnify the voice of new
businesswomen. The WBC clients have access to
numerous chamber educational and outreach events,
helping them build capacity and expanding the voice of
?edgling female entrepreneurs in the regional business
community.
The WBC’s training activities are also enhanced, as it
is able to draw on a pool of talented and experienced
entrepreneurs and business leaders from the chamber
membership to offer classes, seminars, and mentoring.
The Salt Lake Chamber, as an advocate for business in
Utah, also expands possibilities for outreach to female
entrepreneurs, offering a platform to promote the
opportunities and challenges facing women-owned
businesses. As Thompson puts it, the Chamber “has a
loudspeaker” that otherwise may not be available to
promote the value of women’s entrepreneurship and
market WBC services to aspiring female business-owners.
OPENI NG I NTERNATI ONAL
OPPORTUNI TI ES
As part of its efforts to enhance small business
development, the SBA has expanded the focus Women’s
Business Centers place on promoting international trade.
The WBC ?nds itself well placed for such efforts. The Salt
Lake Chamber has an af?liation with the World Trade
Center Utah, an organization linked to a network of 330
trade centers worldwide “that facilitates international
trade and investment.”
40
The close chamber ties to the
trade center enable the WBC to plug clients directly into
assets and trade information, working in partnership
with trade promotion stakeholders throughout the state.
The trade center, the WBC, and the Salt Lake Chamber
share staff; this arrangement creates an environment
where advocates of both women’s entrepreneurship and
trade constantly work together. This provides smooth
access to trade programs for women-owned businesses
working with the WBC. In addition, the WBC has added
international trade to orientation classes, ensuring that
female entrepreneurs are informed about the international
business opportunities as well as local ones.
The WBC also offers women entrepreneurs educational
sessions on ?nance, sales, and marketing. Low-cost,
biweekly classes on business essentials and tools for
jump-starting a business are also given throughout the
year. The WBC also hosts monthly Business Women’s
Forums, providing events aimed at developing leadership
skills, discussing issues facing entrepreneurs and
networking with other local women business owners.
In addition, the WBC also offers a “Grow” initiative,
which provides new entrepreneurs with mentoring and
networking opportunities, helping female entrepreneurs
make connections and access the information they need
to succeed.
SALT LAKE CHAMBER
P30 P30
Center for Women in Business
Rural Entrepreneurship:
Supporting Women-Owned
Enterprise Off the Beaten Path
A BUSI NESS- FRI ENDLY STATE
According to Thompson, Utah is generally a
“great place to do business,” with government
of?cials doing their best to make it easy to
start a business and maintaining an easily
accessible wealth of information to share with
interested entrepreneurs. Utah’s institutions
of higher education have also partnered with
the WBC to boost female entrepreneurs in
the state, creating community partnerships
to provide support services to new business
owners. Students in business-related
programs are able to work with entrepreneurs,
creating a mutually bene?cial situation where
“students get real life experience, and (WBC)
clients get real help” in improving their
business.
As the only major women’s entrepreneurship
center in the state, the WBC also extends its
outreach services to rural entrepreneurs in
isolated portions of Utah. Women starting
businesses in such communities can face
issues when it comes to accessing capital, and
distance from the center can make accessing
classes and information more dif?cult. To
deal with such challenges, the WBC takes
referrals from its network of partners and
allies around the state, which work to direct
new entrepreneurs to the services offered. The
WBC also extends some services to men and
minority-owned businesses, providing some
specialized training and expanding its reach
and exposure in the region.
PUBLI C- PRI VATE
COLLABORATI ON
As an SBA-chartered organization within a
private business advocacy organization, the
Salt Lake Chamber Women’s Business Center
occupies a sweet spot for entrepreneurship
development, bringing the resources of the
government together with the know-how and
business savvy of the private sector. Working
through the WBC, advocates for women’s
entrepreneurship in Utah are able to marshal
regional resources to support the women of
Utah as they seek to build the next generation
of women-owned businesses on the booming
Wasatch Front.
While technological advancement has helped alleviate the
isolation of rural Americans, rural entrepreneurs still face the
inherent challenges of “low population density and remoteness,
with their implications for access to markets, capital, labor, peers,
and infrastructure.”
41
In addition to being isolated from support
networks and potential customers, aspiring entrepreneurs in rural
areas also face local cultural norms that are skeptical of the risks
associated with entrepreneurship. These factors can make the
already dif?cult task of starting a business even more challenging.
To help women interested in becoming entrepreneurs thrive
in rural America, a variety of innovative programs have been
established offering outreach and support tailored to their
needs and challenges. As part of its Rural Enterprise Assistance
Project (REAP), Nebraska’s Center for Rural Affairs created a
Women’s Business Center
42
focused on supporting women-owned
businesses and rural female entrepreneurs throughout the state.
Seeking to overcome barriers of distance, the program operates
as a “center without walls,” offering extension-type services
through a statewide network of business service specialists. The
center also offers educational programs tailored to the needs of
rural entrepreneurs, including sessions related to Internet-related
business.
The program includes groups for networking and training and
connects women-owned businesses in rural settings to federal
contracting opportunities and ?nancing. It has won awards for
its efforts to support rural microenterprise and offers support for
e-commerce and Internet-based businesses, vital ?elds for isolated
rural entrepreneurs interested in accessing wider markets.
Handmade in America’s Appalachian Women Entrepreneurs
43
(AWE) program works to connect rural female entrepreneurs
in rural, Western North Carolina to the resources, networking
opportunities, and marketing information they need to launch
successful small businesses. The program is built around “business
networks” established in regional communities, which help women
in isolated regions access business resources. The program focuses
on supporting women entrepreneurs producing crafts and other
related handmade products for market. Since its launch, AWE has
hosted two conferences focused on bringing female entrepreneurs
from the region together to network, learn from each other’s
experiences, and build a regional support structure. By unleashing
the power of female entrepreneurs, the goal of the program is
to bring growth to a region traditionally marked by higher than
average economic distress and unemployment.
One area of progress and success for rural women entrepreneurs
can be found in the traditionally male-dominated ?eld of
agriculture. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture data, the
“share of U.S. farms operated by women nearly tripled over the
past three decades,” reaching 14% of all farms in the last reported
Census of Agriculture.
44
More than 300,000 women are now
primary operators of an American farm, with more than one million
women serving as a primary or secondary operator of a farm in the
United States. While many women-operated farms remain small in
size, there has been growth in all sales classes, with female farmers
showing a propensity to move into specialty ?elds, including
“poultry and eggs, specialty crops, grains and oilseeds, and dairy.”
45
Still outnumbered by men, more and more entrepreneurial women
have moved into farming and ranching, allowing women to increase
their “share of farms in every sales class during the past 25 years.”
46
P31
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
P31
P32
STEPPI NG UP TO SUPPORT ASPI RI NG
WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
Pittsburgh’s history as a center of industry has left it with
a disproportionate number of large, wealthy foundations,
giving it, according to some ?gures, the second-highest
amount of foundation dollars per capita in the country.
47
These foundations are strongly committed to the
community and have invested heavily in entrepreneurial
support institutions and initiatives.
I NVOLVI NG MORE WOMEN
Under the aegis of this strong support infrastructure,
a number of organizations and foundations in the
city have committed to support the expansion of
women-owned business. One of Pittsburgh’s notable
advocates for women’s entrepreneurship is Chatham
University’s Center for Women’s Entrepreneurship
(CWE). Created in partnership between Chatham and
several Pittsburgh-based foundations, the CWE offers
“entrepreneurial education and training, mentoring, and
networking” opportunities for female entrepreneurs
in Pittsburgh. Backed by private sector sponsors, the
center has built speci?c training programs for both
startups and established businesses looking to grow.
Chatham, a private, women’s undergraduate college and
coeducational graduate school, launched the program
in 2005 to provide education and training for female
entrepreneurs.
As part of its pro-entrepreneurship activities, the CWE
operates MYConsultingCorner, a program connecting
interested women-owned businesses in the Pittsburgh
area with teams of Chatham University business students.
The goal of the program is to turn student M.B.A. projects
into a “client ?eld program” to pursue projects that
support the participating business while offering female
students hands on experience in entrepreneurship. An
“Executive in Residence” works with the students and
business owner to tailor the projects and guide them to
successful completion.
The CWE also offers business basics workshops and
multiweek courses in business startup and growth
strategies. Enrollment in training programs includes a
membership in the CWE, offering entrepreneurs access to
networking events, marketing tools, and basic consulting
services designed to help new businesses analyze their
Web and social media needs.
SETTI NG THE STAGE FOR GROWTH
According to CWE program assistant Patricia Decker,
achieving $1 million in revenue can prove to be “the
elusive mark for female-owned businesses.”
48
Nationally,
only one in ?ve businesses with more than $1 million in
revenue is owned by a woman.
49
CWE’s MyBoard program
is designed to help women-owned businesses overcome
barriers to expansion by matching “growth-stage women-
owned businesses” with a team of mentors to help guide
the entrepreneur. The mentors act as an executive board,
meeting with the participating entrepreneur several times
over the course of a year to help the business take steps
toward growth. The consultations can include business
planning, ?nancial counseling, operational support, or
other tailored guidance.
PITTSBURGH
PITTSBURGH
FEATURES THE
2ND HIGHEST
AMOUNT OF FOUNDATION DOLLARS PER
CAPITA IN THE COUNTRY
P32
Center for Women in Business
P33
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
MAKI NG AN EFFORT TO SUPPORT WOMEN-
OWNED BUSI NESSES
With a multitude of foundational, private, governmental, and educational
stakeholders involved in championing women’s entrepreneurship, there
is need for coordination and alignment. According to Decker, local and
regional government stays engaged, and the city’s foundations work
together toward a common goal of supporting women-owned businesses.
Allegheny County, home to the city of Pittsburgh, maintains a Department
of Minority, Women and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise, which
helps women- and minority-owned businesses grow, thrive, and seek
government contracting opportunities. The county has established rules
requiring contractors to make a ‘good-faith effort’ to hire minority-
or women-owned subcontractors and has set a goal to have 13% of
its business go to minority-owned businesses and an additional 2%
to women-owned businesses. In some areas, these goals have been
exceeded, such as 39.6% of public works contracts with the country going
to women-owned businesses in 2012.
50
The city’s strong entrepreneurial culture and deep entrepreneurial support
system, including incubators, tech centers, small business development
centers, the SBA, and local universities, provide a variety of resources for
female entrepreneurs. According to Decker, Pittsburgh women’s business
stakeholders have a “general recognition that there are plenty of people”
looking to get involved and start businesses, and are committed to
collaboration. At the end of the day, the “sheer number of entrepreneurs
allows for a lot of opportunities.” As a result, those involved in supporting
women entrepreneurs are able to ask, “How can we serve these people
better?”
51
By complimenting and building on the city’s already strong
foundation for entrepreneurial development, programs such as the
CWE have built strong working relationships around the realization that
“everybody wants more small businesses”
52
in the city of Pittsburgh.
Tapping the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the city’s entrepreneurial
women is one way that Pittsburgh can make that goal a reality.
ALLEGHENY COUNTY
HAS SET A GOAL TO
HAVE
13%
OF ITS BUSINESS GO
TO MINORITY-OWNED
SUBCONTRACTORS
AND AN ADDITIONAL
2%
TO WOMEN-OWNED
BUSINESSES
39.6% 39.6%
OF PUBLIC WORKS
PROJECTS IN THE
COUNTY WENT TO
WOMEN-OWNED
BUSINESSES IN 2012
P33
P34
BUI LDI NG A “CULTURE OF
BUSI NESS” THROUGH WOMEN’ S
ENTREPRENEURSHI P
Home to a solid economy and strong entrepreneurial
climate, San Antonio’s leadership has made efforts to
ensure that business and government work together
actively and constructively to promote a “culture of
business” throughout the city. Support of women-owned
business plays a key role in these efforts, tapping into
an engine of job creation and economic prosperity for a
growing region.
EMPOWERI NG WOMEN’ S
ENTREPRENEURI AL DRI VE
Leadership in San Antonio has worked to provide
programming and government services designed to
support entrepreneurial efforts by all members of the
community, including women. Business Empowerment
(BE) San Antonio is a partnership between the city,
Alamo Community Colleges, and the South Central
Texas Regional Certi?cation Agency and focuses on
providing support to small, women-owned, and minority-
owned businesses in the San Antonio region. Female
entrepreneurs are able to take part in the program’s two-
stage “Business Empowerment Plan,” which includes an
initial small business education boot camp followed by
a mentor-protégé and bonding assistance program for
participating entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurs in BE San Antonio’s boot camp can take
part in eight different classes designed to help them
increase the success of their new or existing venture.
The mentor-protégé program offers follow-up guidance
to ensure that new businesses grow and thrive, while
the bonding assistance program helps women-owned
small businesses improve their credit. The program helps
them become bondable, increasing their potential of
being awarded contracts from the city and other local
government or private entities. Many of the program’s
participants are already established business owners
looking to brush up on their business skills with an eye
toward expansion. Program providers work to help these
women ?nd ways to expand their skills and identify steps
for success. By emphasizing “joint efforts” and working
together to support women-owned business, the city has
been able to build a strong foundation for public-private
partnership.
Support of small businesses, including women-owned
businesses, has been a central focus of the city’s
economic development efforts. Its small business of?ce is
located within its Economic Development Department,
and city of?cials ensure that entrepreneurs are involved
in projects throughout the community. Looking to ease
regulatory burdens, San Antonio has embraced a one-
stop concept for entrepreneurs interacting with city
government. The city’s small business center works to
ease interactions with government departments by giving
aspiring entrepreneurs one point of contact to deal with
permitting and other regulatory issues. The city also
provides advocacy services to help business owners
through the stages of launching or growing their business.
These services provide women interested in building a
business a guide through the licensing, permitting, and
regulatory processes in the city.
San Antonio leaders have also worked to ensure that the
voice of women business owners is heard throughout
the policy process. The city maintains a Small Business
Advisory Committee made up of 11 entrepreneurs to give
city policymakers guidance on small business issues. The
SAN ANTONIO
Programs and government
services are designed to support
entrepreneurial efforts.
City leaders have worked
to ensure that the voices of
female entrepreneurs are heard
throughout the policy process.
The Business Empowerment
Plan includes a small business
education boot camp and
mentor-protege assistance for
women business owners.
P34
Center for Women in Business
P35
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
committee, which includes several female entrepreneurs, also provides
direction on programs and policies designed to ensure that more women-
and minority-owned businesses are able to do business with the city
through its contracting process.
Bexar County, home to most of San Antonio, has also committed to
support women-owned businesses, through its Small, Minority, Women,
and Veteran Owned Business Enterprise program. County projects and
procurement agencies actively seek to contract with women-owned
businesses, offering guidance and connections to other business support
stakeholders, helping women entrepreneurs more easily do business with
government.
PUTTI NG ENTREPRENEURI AL SPI RI T
I NTO ACTI ON
Nonpro?t organizations have stepped up to support women business
owners in San Antonio. Accion, one of the nation’s leading microlenders,
is an active participant in supporting women’s entrepreneurship in the
region. Modeled after successful entrepreneurship and lending programs
in Latin America, Accion Texas focuses on providing credit and services to
small businesses and entrepreneurs that do not have access to loans from
commercial sources. San Antonio was one of the ?rst four cities targeted
at the program’s launch in the United States in the early 1990s.
While Accion works to support all types of entrepreneurs, the program
offers outreach and support tailored to women entrepreneurs through its
Women’s Business Center. In addition to connecting women interested
in starting a business to Accion lending resources, the center offers a
variety of training sessions, business counseling, and planning. The center
also works with other community partners to host business roundtable
meetings where aspiring female entrepreneurs can meet successful
business owners and experts to learn how to get a new business up and
running.
BROADENI NG THE ENTREPRENEURI AL
SUPPORT SYSTEM
The metro area is home to multiple chambers of commerce, many of which
provide programming and events focused on highlighting and supporting
women business owners. The city is also home to the Women’s Chamber
of Commerce, founded in 1988. The chamber serves as an educational
organization, connecting female entrepreneurs to leadership and business
skills training. Larger businesses have also helped build the entrepreneurial
base by committing to contract with local small businesses, including
women-owned ventures. The National Association of Women Business
Owners is also active in the city, providing representation, education,
networking, and policy advocacy for the more than 50,000 women
business owners in the San Antonio metro area.
In addition, colleges and universities in the city are active stakeholders in
supporting the growth of women’s entrepreneurship in San Antonio. The
University of Texas at San Antonio operates a small business development
center out of its Institute for Economic Development, providing services
and outreach to all entrepreneurs, including women. The center hosts
meetings and workshops designed speci?cally for women entrepreneurs
through educational and networking opportunities.
SAN ANTONIO WAS
ONE OF THE FIRST
4 CITIES
TARGETED AT ACCION’ S
PROGRAM LAUNCH
SAN ANTONIO’ S WOMEN’ S
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
WAS FOUNDED IN
1988
THERE ARE MORE THAN
50,000
WOMEN BUSINESS OWNERS
IN THE SAN ANTONIO
METRO AREA
FEMALE
ENTREPRENEURS ARE
ABLE TO TAKE PART IN
BE SAN ANTONIO’ S
TWO-STAGE
“BUSINESS
EMPOWERMENT PLAN”
P35
P36
Though certain pockets of the country have higher levels of female entrepreneurship than others, our research shows
that any community with determination can build a supportive network for its local women-owned businesses. The
communities and programs highlighted in this report are only a snapshot of the work that is under way across the
country to continue growing women’s entrepreneurship. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation recognizes the
hard work of these and other programs that are working tirelessly to create jobs, solve problems, and strengthen
America’s long-term competitiveness. It is clear that when communities help women in business succeed, they
ultimately help America succeed as well.
CONCLUSION
THE CENTER FOR
WOMEN I N BUSI NESS
The Center for Women in Business (CWB), a unique program of the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce Foundation, advances women business leaders. CWB
facilitates networking and mentoring opportunities for women in all stages of
their careers, promotes opportunities for women to serve on corporate boards
and in the C-suite, and builds a robust network of entrepreneurs to encourage
peer-to-peer networking, education, and professional growth.
THE U. S. CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE FOUNDATI ON
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (USCCF) is a 501 (c)(3) nonpro?t
af?liate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce dedicated to strengthening
America’s long-term competitiveness by addressing developments that affect
our nation, our economy, and the global business environment.
P36
Center for Women in Business
P37
WOMEN-OWNED BUSI NESSES—CARVI NG A NEW AMERI CAN BUSI NESS LANDSCAPE
1
“2013 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report”, American Express OPENhttps://c401345.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/pdf/WomanReport_FINAL.pdf
2
Angel Kwolek-Folland, Incorporating Women: A History of Women and Business in the United States (New York: Twayne, 1998).
3
“The American Express OPEN State of Women-Owned Businesses Report”https://c401345.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/pdf/WomanReport_FINAL.pdf
4http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/?les/Issue Brief 2,%20Business%20Owner%20Demographics.pdf
5
“2013 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report”, American Express OPEN
6
Lesa Mitchell. “Overcoming the Gender Gap: Women Entrepreneurs as Economic Drivers.” Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
September 2011
7
Jessica Canning, Maryam Haque, Yimeng Wang. Women at the Wheel: Do Female Executives Drive Success?
VentureSource. 2012 Dow Jones and Company Inc
8
Companies that went public, were acquired, or turned pro?table were de?ned as “successful.” “Unsuccessful” included both failed
companies and “not-yet-successful” startups still operating that may eventually go public or get acquired.
9
Catherine Jay Didion, Rita S. Guenther, and Victoria Gunderson: Rapporteurs; From Science to Business: Preparing Female
Scientists and Engineers for Successful Transitions into Entrepreneurship: Summary of a Workshop. Committee on Women in
Science, Engineering, and Medicine; Policy and Global Affairs; National Research Council. 2012.
10
From Ideas to Independence: A Century of Entrepreneurial Women. National Women’s History Museum.
See www.http://entrepreneurs.nwhm.org
11
Joshua Wright, “Characteristics of the Self-Employed,” Economicmodeling.com, July 18th, 2012.
12
Wendell Cox, “Driving Alone Dominates 2007-2012 Commuting Trend,” Newgeography.com, Oct. 9, 2013; Wendell Cox, “Decade of
the Telecommute,” Newgeography.com, Oct. 5, 2010.
13http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1717932;
www.economicmodeling.com/2011/04/29/independent-contractors-othernoncovered-workers-on-the-rise/
14
U.S Chamber of Commerce Foundation. 2013 Enterprising States: Getting Down to Small Business
15
Stephan J. Goetz, David A. Fleming, and Anil Rupasingha. “The Economic Impacts of Self-Employment.”
Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, 44,3(August 2012):315–321. 2012.
16https://c401345.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/pdf/State_of_Women-Owned_Businesses Report_FINAL.pdf
17
American Express, The 2013 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report,https://c401345.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com...3/03/13ADV-WBI-E-StateOfWomenReport_FINAL.pdf
18http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25619252
19http://www.babson.edu/Academics/cen...research/gem/Documents/GEM_US_2011_Report.pdf
20http://www.gemconsortium.org/docs/download/2825
21
The National Women’s Business Council (NWBC). “Best Practices in Supporting Women’s Entrepreneurship: A Compendium of
Public and Private Sector Organizations and Initiatives” 2004.
22
It never has met that target, capturing only about 3.2 percent of the total, according to federal procurement data. The effort,
which allows agencies to reserve money for women-owned businesses, started in April 2011, 11 years after Congress ordered the
SBA to create the program. Danielle Ivory. Women Lose More Ground in U.S. Small Business Contracts Race. Bloomberg.com. Jan
24, 2013.
23
Interview, Ruthe Farmer, Director of Strategic Initiatives, National Center for Women & IT (NCWIT)
24
ncwit.org/extensionservices
ENDNOTES
66
P37
P38
25
Ibid.
26
ncwit.org/heroes
27http://www.ncwit.org/programs-campaigns/awards/ncwit-symons-innovator-award
28https://www.ncwit.org/programs-campaigns/pacesetters
29https://www.ncwit.org/sites/default...ition_in_computing_april_2012_communications_
of_the_acm_copy.pdf
30
Farmer interview.
31http://www.ncwit.org/sites/default/?las/resources/ncwit_thefacts_rev2010.pdf
32
Interview, CiCi Rojas, Director, Central Exchange
33http://www.big5kc.com/
34
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kauffman/2013/12/03/what-cities-can-do-to-boost-entrepreneurship/
35
http://kcmayor.org/pro?les/womens-empowerment
36
http://fasttrac.org/entrepreneurs/programs/FastTrac NewVenture.aspx
37http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/blog/2013/09/breaking-down-silos-athena-league.html?page=al
38
http://www.sba.gov/tools/local-assistance/wbc
39
Interview, Ann Marie Thompson, Program Director Salt Lake Chamber Women’s Business Center
40http://www.wtcutah.com/about
41
Brian Dabson, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, “Supporting Rural Entrepreneurship.”http://www.frbkc.org/PUBLICAT/
Exploring/RC01Dabs.pdf
42http://www.cfra.org/reap/wbc
43http://www.handmadeinamerica.org/awe.html
44
http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib-economic-information-bulletin/eib111.aspx#.Ureay9JDslo
45
http://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2013-may/among-women-farmers,-different-specializations-dominate-farm-numbers,-
farm-sales.aspx#.Uream9JDslp
46http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib-economic-information-bulletin/eib111.aspx#.Ureay9JDslo
47http://www.entrepreneurship.org/ID8/Pittsburgh/City-Overview/Foundations.aspx
48
Interview, Patricia Decker, Program Assistant, Chatham University Center for Women’s Entrepreneurship.
49http://www.alumniconnections.com/olc/pub/CWT/pub/pub_page_6.html#listup
50http://www.post-gazette.com/busines...norities-women-are-getting-county-s-business/
stories/201311280203
51
Interview, Patricia Decker, Program Assistant, Chatham University Center for Women’s Entrepreneurship.
52
Ibid.
P38
Center for Women in Business
@ChamberCWB ChamberCWB ChamberCWB
doc_548693688.pdf