March is Women’s History Month, which is a great time to consider the impact of women in businesses. According to a Wells Fargo’s 2024 Impact of Women-Owned Businesses report, women-owned businesses are forming businesses, increasing revenue, and employing more people faster than men. Here’s a deep dive into the facts about women-owned businesses today.
Women-owned businesses in general
According to the report references above:
- There are over 14 million women-owned businesses
- Of all U.S. businesses, 39.1% are women-owned businesses. This is up from about 26% in 2000, and about 5% in 1975 (the year that the National Association of Women Business Owners was formed).
- Women-owned businesses generate $2.7 trillion in revenue (5.8% of total firm revenue nationally)
- Women-owned businesses employ over 12 million individuals (9.2% of total employees)
But the picture of women-owned businesses isn’t completely rosy:
- Men-owned businesses typically have average revenue that’s 4 times what women-owned businesses earn.
- Women-owned businesses still face challenges in accessing capital needed for growth
- Many owners are mothers who have to deal with the lack of affordable, qualify childcare.
$1M+women-owned businesses
Wells Fargo reports that there were 272,567 million-dollar-plus women-owned businesses in 2024. They generated $2.2 trillion in revenue and represent:
- 9% of all women-owned businesses
- 2% of women-owned employers
- 7% of all $1M+ employers
Types of women-owned businesses
According to the 2024 Impact of Women-Owned Businesses report referenced earlier, it used to be that women owners tended to be found in three industries: essential services (e.g., child- or eldercare), social assistance, and education services. Today, women are diversifying into all industries. Nearly half of all women-owned businesses today can be found in four industries: other services (hair and nail salons; pet care, laundries; dry cleaners); professional/scientific/technical services (legal; bookkeeping; consulting); administrative and support and waste management and remediation services (office administration; staffing agencies; security and surveillance services); and healthcare and social assistance (physicians; mental health practitioners; child daycare and home care providers). There are women-owned businesses in every industry.
Even though the numbers don’t show it, women have founded or co-founded some of the leading online businesses, including:
- Melanie Perkins (Canva)
- Julia Hartz (Eventbrite)
- Caterina Fake (FlickR)
- Whitney Wolfe Herd (Bumble)
And you probably know that women—past and present—have a significant presence in the entertainment (Oprah; Dolly Paron; Rihanna; Reese Witherspoon; Kim Kardashian; Selena Gomez), fashion (Sara Blakely; Coco Chanel; Tory Burch; Anita Dongre; Sophia Amoruso), and cosmetics (Elizabeth Arden; Bobbi Brown; Madam C.J. Walker; Estee Lauder; Kylie Jenner) industries. And there are so many others: Jennifer Garner (Once Upon a Farm); Bethenny Frankel (Skinnygirl; BStrong; Forever Young); Jessica Alba (The Honest Co.); and many, many more.
Where to start a business today
Women thinking about starting a business might consider location—which state is best? According to Printful, the top states dominated by female business owners are: Florida (I’m one of them), Maryland, Virginia, Colorado, and Oregon. But the states where women-owned businesses have revenue over $1 million are California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Illinois.
Final thoughts
I agree with Katharine Graham, publisher of The Washington Post who grew the company’s revenue by over $1 billion during her tenure and expanded it into a global media conglomerate, who said “to love what you do and feel like it matters—how could anything be more fun?”
The SBA has links to resources for women-owned businesses to help launch and grow their activities.
To find more information about women-owned businesses, see this list of blogs
