With March being Women’s History Month, it’s a good time to examine women-owned businesses. The 2026 Report of The Impact of Women-Owned Businesses, which looked at businesses through 2025, shows that “women-owned businesses play an increasingly vital role in shaping the American business landscape and driving the economy.” They represent 40.6% of all U.S. businesses. Here are some of the report’s finding…and more.
Women-owned businesses by the numbers
A women-owned business is one that is at least 51% owned, operated, and controlled by one or more women. In 2025, there were 15.7 million women-owned businesses (WOBs). Of these:
- 7 million (6.6%) were Asian American
- 9 million (14%) were Black/African American
- 9 million (19.1) were Hispanic/Latino
Employment. WOBs employed 12.6 million employees. This represents a growth in employment between 2022 and 2025 of 11.1%. WOBs averaged 8.9 workers.
Revenue. WOBs grossed $2.8 trillion in total revenue, representing 9.9% growth in revenue between 2022 and 2025. The average WOB has revenue in 2025 of $179,000.
Challenges to women-owned businesses
The year 2025 saw many economic changes, including tariffs, global geopolitical tensions, and tightened credit. The report says: “These factors disproportionately impact women-owned small businesses, which tend to have thinner margins, greater barriers to funding, and concentration in consumer-facing sectors.”
Also, interest rates remain elevated, limited access to capital. This is especially true for very small businesses that lack a long credit history.
WOBs continue to face time constraints due to caregiving responsibilities. They also don’t have the “old boy network” to tap into for contacts and growth.
Successes of women-owned businesses
Despite the challenges, the numbers show that WOBs are succeeding. The report found: “Many women-owned businesses benefited from investments in digital tools, expanded access to online markets, and the growing adoption of AI. These technologies have helped streamline operations, improve customer targeting, and create new ways to deliver products and services, particularly in sectors such as retail, healthcare, and professional services.”
Why women start businesses
“In 2019, women started nearly 30% of new businesses. By 2024, that share had increased to almost half (49%) of all new businesses.”
The reasons for starting a business are varied and include:
- To build a financial asset
- To increase income
- To be the boss
- To work according to their schedules
WOBs versus men-owned businesses
The stats for WOBs are impressive, but they pale in comparison to men-owned businesses when it comes to the average number of employees and average revenue. In 2025, WOBs averaged 8.9 employees versus 13.8 employees for men-owned businesses. WOBs had average revenue of $179,000, versus $896,000 for men-owned businesses.
Final thought
As someone who clearly remembers when married women were first able to obtain credit cards in their own name (it was 1974 when the Equal Credit Opportunity Act made it illegal for banks to discriminate in issuing credit cards on the basis of gender or marital status), it’s kind of amazing to me that there’s still a credit barrier for WOBs. But the fact remains that credit is still a bigger problem for WOBs than for men-owned businesses. It’s about time for a change!
Additional blogs on the topic of women-owned businesses can be found in this list here.
