The State Of Women Entrepreneurs: Reports Show Optimism And Growth
By Rieva Lesonsky
Recently we celebrated Women's History Month, and women business owners continue to make history. The inaugural 2024 Impact of Women-Owned Businesses from Wells Fargo shows that women own 39.1% (about 14 million) of all U.S. businesses, a 13.6% increase from 2019 to 2023.
A new report Women and Wealth: Growing the pie, creating opportunities from the Bank of America Institute shows women are positioned to be 'key drivers of economic growth' due to 'increased wage gains, coupled with the 'Great Wealth Transfer.''
The report stresses these gains are not at the expense of men but likely driven by the fact that the gap between male and female labor force participation rate (LFPR) and the employment ratio is narrowing in the United States. According to the report, 'This suggests the emergence of a job market that is providing more employment opportunities for working women." According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), women now make up nearly 47% of the total workforce.
This means 'women's prosperity will help 'grow the pie' of total affluence, expanding opportunities across the board. And Bank of America's internal data shows, 'the difference in median annual income growth between men and women has fallen to around 4% at the end of 2024 from 6.5% in 2022.
The Women and Wealth report shows there's still a significant gender/wage gap in America. But the younger the women, the smaller the gap. Women aged 16 to 24 earned 90.6% as much as men in the same age group. However, as women reach their peak earning potential (ages 35 to 54), the gap widens to about 81%. And the gap becomes a gorge when women aged 55 to 64 earn 76% of what men in that age group make.
The Women to Wealth report says, 'Wealth is tilting female even without pay parity.' This 'Great Wealth Transfer' refers to 'an estimated $124 trillion that's expected to be transferred to women through 2048' via inheritance. This means American women will 'soon control more money than ever before.'
Combine this with the fact that women today are more educated, enter the workforce at higher levels, have greater career aspirations with the expectations of higher pay, have fewer children, and stay in the workforce longer. The result is that 'women are in control of their finances earlier in their lives.' Plus, they're more financially literate and know how to grow their wealth from an earlier stage in their lives.
Not all women in America face the same level of challenges. Research by Printful, reveals that some states offer women better access to funding, mentorship, and business-friendly policies. For details, check out Printful's post.
The top 10 states for women business owners:
Women small business owners are reaping the rewards as well. The 2024 Women and Minority Business Owner Spotlight, released by Bank of America last fall, shows that 57% of women business owners said they planned to expand their businesses in 2025 by:
However, raising money has been an issue for these business owners. While 60% said they think women entrepreneurs currently have equal access to capital as men entrepreneurs, 22% believe they'll gain equal access sometime in the future, and 18% don't think women will ever get it. In addition, 25% of the women entrepreneurs say they've already experienced 'challenges' accessing capital for their companies.
The financial struggle was underscored in the 2024 State of Women's Small Business Report from Block Advisors, which revealed that 42% of the women small business owners surveyed who had applied for a bank loan had never been approved. And 15% were never told why they were rejected. This resulted in 89% of the women self-funding using personal savings and credit cards.
Like the women surveyed by Bank of America, these women were 'somewhat or very positive' (94%) about their businesses this year, and 75% felt 'very positive' about the financial resilience of their companies.
Perhaps the most difficult challenge for the women surveyed in the Women and Minority Business Owner Spotlight was that most (63%) said they needed to work harder to achieve the same level of success as men business owners. But 45% are motivated by the desire to build generational wealth for their families.
More from AllBusiness:
While the small business outlook for women in the United States is mostly positive, the environment is not as bright for women entrepreneurs around the globe. A recent report from the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, in partnership with Intuit and the World Bank's 'Women, Business and the Law' project, Empowered or Undermined? Women Entrepreneurs and the Digital Economy studied women running businesses in nearly 100 low- and middle-income countries.
Women own businesses in many of these nations, including 47% of companies in Latin America and the Caribbean, 44% in East Asia and the Pacific, and 30% in Sub-Saharan Africa.
However, the report states, 'The full economic potential of women's entrepreneurial spirit remains unrealized. Despite modest improvements in recent years, the World Economic Forum estimates it would take the world's women 152 years to reach economic parity.'
The report is quite detailed, and I encourage you to read it. Here are some key findings. Of the global women entrepreneurs surveyed:
For global women entrepreneurs, according to the report from the Cherie Blair Foundation, more access to digital tools is essential, and 'countries prioritizing digital and financial inclusion today will benefit from more equitable economies tomorrow.' The report concludes, 'The challenge now is not just expanding access to technology, but ensuring that women have the skills, security, and support to use it to its fullest potential so that they can thrive as business owners and achieve their economic ambitions.' American women entrepreneurs need much of the same.
We all need to realize that when women prosper, everyone prospers. According to Bank of America Global Research, if women had the same labor force participation rate as men, it would increase U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 3.9% or $1.1 trillion. Closing the gender wage gap would add another $866 billion to the GDP. And closing both the gender employment and wage gaps could boost the GDP by about 7.5% or $2.1 trillion. If this shift toward equality were to extend to the EU and the UK, the global economy could expand by $3.5 trillion.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
5 Home Renovation Projects That Are Most Tariff-Proof
Even home renovation projects aren't immune to global politics. President Donald Trump's tariffs have shaken up the world economic order, and according to Better Homes and Gardens, they could cause the prices of construction and renovation materials to rise. But not every project is equally affected. 'When thinking about projects that aren't going to be as impacted by tariffs, you'll want to think about projects where the materials are typically sourced in the U.S.,' Angie Hicks, co-founder of home services website Angi (formerly Angie's List), wrote in an email. Read Next: Find Out: For homeowners looking to protect their budgets, these five renovation projects are among the most tariff-proof. Also see four ways the middle class can tariff-proof their wealth. 'Many maintenance and repair projects are tariff-proof in that they are unavoidable,' explained Marine Sargsyan, staff economist at Houzz, an online platform for home remodeling and design. 'Considering that more than half of U.S. homes were built before 1980 (51%), it's no surprise that dated exterior features and core systems require attention.' Unlike elective renovations, these projects are driven by necessity. Homeowners are more likely to prioritize them regardless of rising material costs. 'We always recommend tackling maintenance projects first to help prevent surprise expenses later,' Hicks said. 'This means making sure your roof is in good shape, getting an HVAC tune-up or taking care of any plumbing issues.' Check Out: Another type of renovation project homeowners should consider is a home system upgrade. 'While tariffs may impact some of the materials required to complete these projects, labor has a more significant implication on project budgets and timelines,' Sargsyan said. According to the 2025 U.S. Houzz & Home Study, some system upgrades, such as plumbing and electrical, have consistently been the second-most-frequent type of project for the past few years. 'Median spend for home system projects remained relatively stable year over year across almost all categories, with the exception of plumbing systems, for which spend jumped by 25%, to $1,500,' she added. Hicks wrote that a great example of a home renovation project that uses locally sourced materials is painting. While many American manufacturers of paint import ingredients, not all do. For example, Benjamin Moore's website states that the company makes all of its own resins and pigments in the U.S. Miller Paint is another American paint company that makes premium paints in the U.S. formulated specifically for the Pacific Northwest. 'You could also consider projects that are using locally sourced lumber for building things like shelves, cabinets and flooring,' Hicks explained. The U.S. obtains most of its lumber domestically, but it also imports a significant portion from Canada. 'The Q2 2025 Houzz U.S. Renovation Barometer found that construction professionals are most concerned about tariffs on lumber (83%),' Sargsyan explained. 'While a proposed additional 25% tariff on Canadian lumber was delayed and ultimately exempted, the dust hasn't settled and policy direction remains uncertain.' You can check where the lumber was sourced by its grading stamp, shelf tag at the store or lumberyard, or request the supplier or contractor to provide a certificate of origin. Some wood species are predominantly U.S.-grown, such as Southern Yellow Pine (SYP). You can also verify lumber origin using the FSC Search tool. 'Landscaping could be a great project as long as you're using plants and trees that are sourced in the U.S.,' Hicks recommended. Houzz found that more than half of renovating homeowners (53%) improved their outdoor spaces and typically completed nearly two outdoor projects on average. 'As we enter the summer season, it's a great time to invest in outdoor areas to extend the livable space of your home,' Sargsyan said. Editor's note on political coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on More From GOBankingRates I'm a Retired Boomer: 6 Bills I Canceled This Year That Were a Waste of Money These 10 Used Cars Will Last Longer Than an Average New Vehicle This article originally appeared on 5 Home Renovation Projects That Are Most Tariff-Proof Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business of Fashion
21 minutes ago
- Business of Fashion
Why Brands Are Still Betting on the US
Serena Uziyel isn't giving up on the US. Over the last year, the Istanbul-based luxury shoe brand has opened two stores in Florida and one in New York in what is now its second-largest market after Turkey. The brand hopes to open more stores in Florida, as well as new markets like California and Texas. Those plans were made before the Trump administration unleashed its tariffs, and when the US economy was on more solid footing. But the brand has no intention of changing course now. 'We know how to deal with it, so we are not going to change our plans,' said chief executive Nadir Celik. It helps that the brand has experience navigating economic turbulence and high inflation in Turkey, he added. Countless brands are making their own assessment of whether trying for a slice of the world's biggest fashion market is still worth the investment. All signs point to a weak economy with consumer confidence plummeting as the costs for essential goods like eggs go up. Retail sales on discretionary items fell in April. Trump's trade policy is also in flux, with the Supreme Court potentially weighing in on whether he can impose tariffs on dozens of countries on top of a 10 percent global levy that went into effect in April. Investing in America could be a costly mistake in a worst case scenario, where Trump imposes prohibitive tariffs, the economy enters a deep recession, or both. But missing out if the turbulence is milder than expected has its own costs. Brands operating in the US are moving quickly to protect themselves, such as by reconfiguring their supply chains to minimise potential tariffs, or operating on parallel tracks, growing their US presence while speeding up expansion elsewhere. For many, the choice to stay is clear – the market is simply too big to ignore. 'America as an economy is too important to be canceled,' said the Switzerland-based designer Philipp Plein. 'People have money to spend; people will keep on spending money.' A Resilient Market Philipp Plein International Group is going ahead with a number of US store openings for its Plein Sport activewear brand, as it looks to at least double sales for that business to $40 million, Plein said. The line is made in China, where Trump has slapped 30 percent duties on all products, but he's betting that the tariff uproar won't be as detrimental as many fear. He's even more confident in the American consumer. He noted the country's economy bounced back quickly after Covid compared to other leading economies like China, which has struggled to recover from the pandemic. Brands are also banking on customer loyalty to get them through a potential rough patch. When it comes to customers, 'once we get, them we keep them,' said Peta Heinsen, co-founder and director of the Australian womenswear brand Matteau. Heinsen said the label aims to have more than half its sales come from the US, up from 35 percent today. If US customers replicate a 70 percent global repeat purchase rate, they'll get there, tariffs or no tariffs, Heinsen said. The more that happens in the US, 'we can see huge potential without having to do too much more than we're already doing,' she said. Supply Chain Alignment Where brands are changing course, it's often behind the scenes. Ever-changing tariffs have underscored the need for brands to have a global supply chain — particularly one that isn't wholly dependent on China. The more suppliers and factories in its network, the more flexible a brand can be in relocating production when the cost of doing business increases. Diversified supply chains will help in most tariff scenarios, experts say. Several brand founders cited Portugal, Turkey and India as countries with relatively low manufacturing costs that were likely to dodge the highest tariffs. In February, Matteau moved production of its swimwear line from China to Portugal, sidestepping the roller coaster ride in April and May that saw tariffs on Chinese imports set as high as 145 percent before temporarily settling at their current level. (Whether the brand's bet pays off in the long run remains to be seen; in late May, Trump threatened a 50 percent tariff on goods from the European Union). After moving into 1,700 Target stores, supplement maker Imaraïs Beauty is in talks to move production of its gummy supplements from Canada to the US so it can keep its big new retail customer consistently supplied without having to pay tariffs. 'As a brand, and a brand owner, you're putting out fires nonstop,' said co-founder and chief executive Aaron Hefter. 'This is a forest fire.' With a trade war still brewing and consumer sentiment in flux, brands have to move forward with their growth plans while minimising any threats to their business, said Anshuman Jaiswal, chief business officer at software firm OnePint, which helps global businesses manage inventory. 'The only thing that you can control is, 'Can I have more risk cushion in my business plan?'' Jaiswal said.
Business of Fashion
21 minutes ago
- Business of Fashion
Sies Marjan Designer Sander Lak to Launch Menswear Label
Sander Lak, the Central Saint Martins-trained designer behind now-defunct New York label Sies Marjan, will debut a new luxury menswear brand, Sanderlak, at Paris men's fashion week later this month. Lak, who worked at Dries Van Noten in Antwerp before moving to New York, launched Sies Marjan in 2016 with the backing of billionaire investor Howard Marks and his wife, Nancy Marks, who financed the American couture label Ralph Rucci before Rucci's exit in 2014. 'Opportunities like these don't happen anymore,' Lak told The Business of Fashion in 2016. 'It used to happen in the '90s, maybe, but not anymore.' Sanderlak logo. (Sanderlak) Against the odds, Sies Marjan, best known for Lak's poetic use of colour, was picked up by Barneys New York after a buzzy debut attended by Anna Wintour, Natalie Massenet and Stefano Tonchi. In 2018, Lak was awarded the CFDA's Emerging Designer of the Year award. But the 2019 closure of Barneys hit the business hard, as did the pandemic, and Sies Marjan shuttered in June 2020. Lak's new menswear venture, partially funded by angel investors, is targeting a category that's less saturated than women's ready-to-wear and, following the pandemic, saw growth that outpaced the industry overall. But the label is launching at a challenging time for emerging labels amid a sharp downturn in demand for luxury goods. Sanderlak will be presented in Paris through private appointments. The brand, currently based in New York, will consist of two main collections a year.
