Issue link: https://nbm.uberflip.com/i/1451373
W hen you look at the statistics regarding woman-owned businesses, it may appear, based solely on the numbers, that women have made progress in this area. In 1972, according to the National Association of Women Business Owners, there were 402,000 businesses owned by women. In 2020, that number was 12.3 million. e Women's Business Enterprise National Council points out that four out of every 10 businesses based in the United States are woman owned. If you measured the number of female entrepreneurs today versus the num- ber of female entrepreneurs 20 years ago, you would see a 114% increase. So, the numbers look positive and as if they're all trending in the right direction. If you're looking solely at the numbers, the question on which this article is based, why aren't more women starting businesses? Seems like it's moot. Women are starting businesses; we can see that from the numbers. I mean, can't we? Well, some of the numbers are a bit mislead- ing when you dig a bit deeper. WOMEN IN BUSINESS First, let's look at that statistic from the Women's Busi- ness Enterprise National Council — four out of 10 businesses in the United States are female owned. at equates to about 40% of all businesses, which sounds great until you realize that this ratio isn't in propor- tion to the gender breakdown of the population of the United States in its entirety. Estimates of the gender breakdown in America put males at 48.9% and females at 51.1%. Given that breakdown, the percentage of businesses owned by men and women should be rough- 6 6 G R A P H I C S P R O J U N E 2 0 2 2 G R A PH I C S - PR O.C O M B U S I N E S S S T R A T E G I E S The Growth of Women- Owned Businesses NUMBERS SHOW GROWTH, BUT PARITY IS STILL LACKING