Women In Business The Stats–The Bigger Picture v. Slighted Views It Is What It Is
Per census.gov, the 2021 US Annual Business Survey (ABS) covering the 2020 data, provided that somewhere around 1.24 million (21.4%) of employer businesses were women-owned–having an estimated $1.9 trillion in receipts, 10.9 million employees and $432.1 billion in annual payroll. Now, when we take these numbers out of context and look at them as standalone stats, it’s easy to draw slighted positive conclusions–steering in the directionality of women making strides in the context of gender entrepreneurial disparities, or in the context of socioeconomic gains and glass ceilings being broken. However, while it sounds good, it’s pertinent to look at the other side of the coin.
Forbes took this same data and painted a more whole picture–and in their meta-analysis using both the Census data and data from the Kauffman Foundation, they found that while statistically more women than ever have dived into entrepreneurship, the gender gap is actually not closing but appears to be getting wider.
Some of you may be wondering “How?” or “Why?” and yet, others may not be surprised; but, let’s look a little deeper. Per Forbes:
The average annual rate of women entering into entrepreneurship increased from .23% to .26% over the 1996-2014 timeframe.
Women recorded their highest rate in 2020 at .30% (Yet, are we surprised–the pandemicforced many out of their 9-5’s and into self-ownership).
But, guess what? Just because more women are betting on themselves in this market of chaos and unpredictability, it doesn’t mean men are betting on themselves any less–and they still have the inequitable support of capitalism and patriarchy. On average, between 1996-2014, the gender entrepreneurial gap hovered around .14; between 2015-2021, it rose to .16–yet, as women entrepreneurship has increased, so has male entrepreneurship, and the opportunity for growth and expansion continues to be in their favor:
Per Covid-19 assistance programs, on average, 38% of male-owned firms received more than $100,000 compared to 31% of women-owned firms.
Women receive just 7% of venture funds for their startups and on average, receive a loan of $38,945 while men receive approximately $43,916 (a $5000 difference).
While women’s credit applications increased in 2021, males still received loans and/or lines of credit that were on average 67% larger in 2021 than their female counterparts, which is a significant increase from 2020 where on average their loan was 33% higher than their female counterparts
More women are betting on themselves, more markets are opening up to female entry (Construction, Tech, Politics, etc.), and female leadership–but when we look at the bigger picture, we were late to the game and now we’re playing catch-up! It’s 2022, and contrary to popular opinion, we are still experiencing the effects of 400 years of slavery–and I say “we” with intentionality because it doesn’t matter if you were on the giving side or receiving side, the privileged side or terrorized side, we are all a part of the cultural, race, gender, economic dissemination. But, the point is, women only had the luxury–or shall I dare to use the word ‘freedom’ of entering into the workforce not even a full century ago. The same slave mentalities that continue to impede on the development of Black communities are not so far-fetched from the mentalites of women entrepreneurs. Yes, there is a lot working against us, but in many ways, our mindsets have still not yet been liberated from the time our XX ancestors and XX predecessors spent relegated as “other” or simply not as valuable as our XY counterparts–be that socially, intellectually, and economically.
One of the statistics that stand out to me as I write this post is, on average women ask for less when it comes to startup costs, capital and/or loans–so, could that contribute to why statistically we receive less? Just a thought; obviously not accounting for other impeding factors.
We can easily paint an ugly picture with the stats, or, we can be optimistic, remove some of the context and dress it up to make it a bit more digestible, or just take it for what it is and simply proceed as you were. I think the greatest takeaway is, in whatever interpretation you choose, do your part. Realistically, any outlook can be perceived as slighted–but, as long as you’re contributing in some way to narrowing the disparities that exist in business and/or entrepreneurship, you’re standing on the right side of history. So if you’re a woman in business, a woman jumping into ownership, or a woman in a leadership role–you are contributing to the trajectory change that gives women the confidence to take up space in a space that is disproportionately occupied by men. If you are a man, know that women add a significant amount of value to the business arena; don’t allow gender to slight your vision of opportunity and growth–create space for women to persevere.
Share authentic information, create opportunity, and remember, quality over quantity always!
Dr. Zakiya Renae
Resources:
Census Bureau Releases New Data on Minority-Owned, Veteran-Owned and Women-Owned Businesses
Marking National Women’s Small Business Month: What The Data Say
Women-Owned Businesses: Statistics and Overview (2021) - Fundera Ledger
