49+ Vital Women in Business Statistics for 2023

If you‘re wondering about the state of women in business in 2023, you‘ve come to the right place. In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll explore over 49 revealing statistics and trends that highlight the vital role women play as entrepreneurs and leaders in the business world today.

Women have made remarkable progress, but still face obstacles to full equality. These insights shed light on key opportunities and challenges facing women business owners and leaders as we head into 2023.

Let‘s dive in and unpack the data!

The Growth of Women-Owned Businesses is Accelerating

First, the big picture on women-owned companies. According to the National Association of Women Business Owners, there are over 12 million women-owned firms in the U.S. today, employing 9.4 million workers and generating over $1.9 trillion in revenue.[1]

The growth has been stunning. Between 1972 and 2018, the number of women-owned businesses increased by a massive 3,000%![2]

Just look at these trends:

• Women-owned firms have grown 114% from 1997 to 2017, compared to just 44% overall business growth.[3]
• The number of female-owned employer businesses has expanded 21% from 2014 to 2019.[4]
• Minority women drove 99% of that growth, with firms run by women of color growing 163% over the past decade.[5]
• Texas saw a 146% rise in women entrepreneurs over the past 20 years.[6]
• And the growth continues, with female entrepreneurs launching over 1,800 new businesses per day in 2021.[7]

Women are also launching companies at higher rates than men. 47% of businesses were started by women in the past year, compared to just 44% founded by men.[8]

Women Entrepreneurs Are Resilient Leaders

These numbers paint a picture of women as resilient, determined leaders who are claiming their seat at the head of the table.

Female founders often cite passion, autonomy, and work-life balance as top motivators for starting their own companies.[9] By running their own show, women entrepreneurs demonstrate strong leadership capabilities like relationship building, collaboration, integrity, and communication skills.

In fact, research by leadership development firm Zenger/Folkman found women outscored their male counterparts in 12 out of 16 essential leadership traits including [10]:

• Driving for results
• Taking initiative
• Developing strategic perspectives
• Inspiring others
• Championing change
• Building relationships

The data backs up women‘s strengths. Companies with female founders tend to be more capital efficient, generating 35% higher returns on investment than those led by men [11]. And leadership teams with higher gender diversity enjoy a 47% higher return on equity on average [12].

Women Leaders Boost Business Performance

Bringing more women into leadership roles – as CEOs, board members, and senior managers – also delivers financial benefits. Extensive research, from McKinsey to S&P, reveals organizations with women in high-level positions tend to outperform less diverse competitors.

For example:

• Fortune 500 firms with the most women board directors recorded 74% higher return on assets and return on equity [13].
• Companies with women CEOs saw 84% better stock price growth compared to those led by men [14].
• Businesses with 30% female leaders gained over 15% higher net profit margins [15].
• Across the S&P 500, companies with women CFOs delivered nearly 6% higher net profit margins [16].

The innovation sparked by diversity may explain some of these gains. A BCG analysis found businesses with above-average diversity had 19% higher innovation revenues [17].

But Obstacles Remain for Women Entrepreneurs

Despite their impressive achievements, female founders still face hurdles their male peers often avoid. Just look at these statistics:

Access to Funding

• Women-owned firms received only 2.3% of total VC funding in 2020 [18].
• For companies receiving angel investment, women-led startups get just 15% of deals [19].
• The median VC deal size for female founders was $125,000 versus $2.5 million for male-led firms [20].

Discrimination

• 31% of women say they‘ve faced gender discrimination at work [21].
• 23% of working mothers report experiencing maternity discrimination [22].

Confidence Gap

• 25% of female entrepreneurs cite lack of confidence as a top challenge [23].
• 50% of women say fear of failure deters them from starting a business [24].

Lack of Support

• 48% of women entrepreneurs report insufficient access to mentors and advisors [25].
• Just 7% of VC investment partners are women [26].

Balancing Business and Family

• 23% of working mothers struggle to balance careers and family [27].
• Women provide 75% of unpaid caregiving and housework for families [28].

Add up those obstacles, and it‘s easy to see the headwinds facing women entrepreneurs. But there are signs of progress. Initiatives like All Raise, Women Who Tech, and Digital Undivided provide female founders with networks and support to help get to the next level.

And access to funding is expanding through organizations like The Helm, Women‘s Venture Capital Fund, and SheEO that focus on investing in women-led companies. There‘s still work to be done, but the ecosystem is evolving to empower more female entrepreneurs.

Women of Color Are Driving New Business Growth

Here‘s an undeniably positive trend – women of color are increasingly leading entrepreneurial growth in America.

• In 2019, women of color represented 89% of net new women-owned business growth [5].
• Today, over 50% of all women-owned firms are run by women of color [29].
• That includes an estimated 1.9 million Hispanic women-owned businesses [30].
• Those Hispanic women-led companies generated over $110 billion in revenue in 2022 [31].
• From 2014 to 2019, Asian American women-owned firms expanded by 43% [32].
• For Black women, businesses grew by 50% during the same period [32].

Despite facing systemic barriers, women of color demonstrate tremendous resilience and leadership as entrepreneurs. Policymakers and business leaders must continue efforts to increase access and opportunity for these fastest-growing and most innovative communities of women business owners.

Industries With the Most Women Business Owners

Which sectors of the economy are leading the way for women entrepreneurs? Here‘s a breakdown of where female founders are leaving their mark:

1. Healthcare

With over 151% growth from 2007-2018, healthcare tops the list as the fastest-growing industry for women-owned businesses [33].

• 1 in 10 female entrepreneurs launch healthcare companies [34].
• Women own over 37% of all healthcare firms in the U.S. [35].
• These women-led healthcare firms employ over 1.5 million workers today [35].

2. Professional Services

This category includes businesses providing services in areas like marketing, HR, consulting, legal services, accounting and more. Professional services rank as the second most common field for women business owners [36].

• Growth of women-owned professional services firms expanded by 115% over the past two decades [35].

3. Education

As skilled educators, women also lead in establishing businesses in the education industry.

• The number of women-owned education businesses grew 63% from 2007 to 2018 [33].

4. Retail

Retail offers flexible hours and low barriers to entry for many female entrepreneurs.

• Women lead 24% of all retail companies in America [37].
• Roughly 75% of eBay business sellers are women [38].

5. Food Businesses & Restaurants

The food industry presents exciting opportunities for women to share their recipes, catering skills, and culinary creativity.

• Women operate 25% of all U.S. restaurants [39].
• Female founders opened 38% of new food and beverage manufacturing businesses in 2017 [40].

Across industries, the hard data points to women bringing fresh thinking, leadership capabilities, and innovation to fuel business growth and performance.

The Economic Impact of Women Entrepreneurs

Measuring the overall economic contributions of women-owned companies paints a clear picture – female entrepreneurs are driving immense value creation.

In 2019 alone, women-led enterprises generated $1.8 trillion in revenue and employed 10.1 million workers [3]. Those numbers only continue to grow each year.

Here are a few more statistics that quantify the economic influence of women business owners:

• There are over 6 million women employers across the U.S. today [41].
• Women entrepreneurs employ 9.4 million workers nationwide [1].
• 1 in 5 women-owned companies generate over $1 million in annual revenue [3].
• Businesses run by minority women produced over $422 billion in revenue in 2019 [29].
• Women currently control 51% of personal wealth in the U.S. [42].
• Their estimated spending power tops $40 trillion globally [43].

Add it all up, and women are clearly accelerating as drivers of business growth, innovation, and job creation that benefits economies and communities for all.

Supporting the Next Generation of Women Leaders

To sustain this progress, it‘s vital that we support the next generation of women pioneers and innovators.

Mentorship opportunities make a difference by providing guidance and networks to help young women advance. Management training programs focused on developing female leaders are bearing fruit across industries.

And crucially, access to education unlocks entrepreneurial potential. Research shows women with advanced degrees are:

• 2X as likely to start a business [44].
• 3X more likely to be self-employed [45].
• College-educated women operate 38% of all women-owned companies [46].

Opening doors for women to pursue higher education earlier in life pays dividends as they apply that knowledge to fuel business ingenuity and leadership later in their careers.

The Bottom Line on Women in Business

The verdict is clear – enabling women to launch and lead ventures promises immense benefits for economies and communities everywhere.

The statistics presented here paint a picture of women entrepreneurs as growing drivers of business, innovation, and job creation. But work remains to overcome systemic barriers holding women back from reaching their full potential.

The coming years offer an opportunity to build on recent gains by further supporting female founders with funding, mentors, and education. With more women at the helm, the future of business looks bright.

I hope these insights provide some valuable context on the state of women in business in 2023! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Sources

[1] National Association of Women Business Owners, 2022
[2] Fundera, 2021
[3] American Express, 2019
[4] American Express, 2022
[5] American Express, 2022
[6] Texas Comptroller, 2021
[7] SBA, 2021
[8] NASE, 2021
[9] What to Become, 2022
[10] Zenger Folkman, 2019
[11] BCG, 2018
[12] Credit Suisse, 2019
[13] Credit Suisse, 2016
[14] Peterson Institute, 2016
[15] McKinsey, 2020
[16] S&P Global, 2019
[17] BCG, 2018
[18] Crunchbase, 2021
[19] Small Business Trends, 2019
[20] BCG, 2018
[21] Hired, 2016
[22] Hired, 2016
[23] Deloitte, 2021
[24] NAWBO, 2021
[25] Hired, 2018
[26] Forbes, 2021
[27] Telegraph, 2020
[28] McKinsey, 2021
[29] American Express, 2019
[30] Stanford, 2021
[31] Skift, 2022
[32] American Express, 2022
[33] SBA, 2018
[34] NASE, 2021
[35] WBENC, 2022
[36] SBA, 2018
[37] SBA, 2018
[38] eBay, 2022
[39] Data USA, 2022
[40] SBA, 2018
[41] SBA, 2018
[42] Morgan Stanley, 2022
[43] Barrons, 2022
[44] Catalyst, 2021
[45] NFWSB, 2022
[46] SBA, 2018