Female Entrepreneurs: Breaking Barriers and Paving the Way for Others
Introduction
Female entrepreneurs are on the rise. Not only have they increased in number over the last few decades, but they’re also starting businesses with more ambition and impact than ever before. According to a recent report by The Wall Street Journal and Women Presidents’ Organization, women-owned companies generated $1.6 trillion in revenue in 2017 — or about 9 percent of total U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). That’s up from $1 trillion in 2012 and $30 billion in 1977 when accounting for inflation!
Women are a growing force in entrepreneurship, with more than 5.5 million self-employed women in the United States.
Women are a growing force in entrepreneurship, with more than 5.5 million self-employed women in the United States. Women are now more likely to be the primary breadwinner in their household and start businesses at a faster pace than men. This can be attributed to many factors but one of them is that women have been historically underrepresented in business leadership roles and therefore had fewer opportunities to develop skills needed for entrepreneurship, such as budgeting and planning for growth.
Women represent 53% of all workers today — up from 43% in 1980 — yet only 4% of Fortune 500 companies have female CEOs; only 1 percent have female chief financial officers (CFOs).
In the past, female entrepreneurs faced many challenges, but times have changed and so have their opportunities.
In the past, female entrepreneurs faced many challenges. Women were discouraged from starting businesses and were not allowed to own property. Despite these obstacles, women persevered; they worked hard to build their companies and break down barriers for future generations of female business owners.
Today, there are more opportunities than ever before for women entrepreneurs who want to start their own ventures or grow existing ones.
One of the biggest challenges for female entrepreneurs was access to capital, which has improved over time.
One of the biggest challenges for female entrepreneurs was access to capital, which has improved over time.
Innovative women are more likely to receive funding than men. One study found that women-led businesses were 50% more likely to receive VC funding than those led by men. Another study found that companies with at least one woman on its executive team were more likely to secure financing from angel investors and venture capitalists than male-only teams (68% vs 50%).
Conclusion
As we’ve seen, women have come a long way in their pursuit of entrepreneurship. They have faced many challenges over time and continue to face some today, but their success stories show us that these hurdles can be overcome with determination and perseverance. Female entrepreneurs are paving the way for other women who want to follow in their footsteps by breaking down barriers and paving new paths forward for all entrepreneurs — including those who may not think they’re capable of starting their own business because of gender stereotypes!
