Women in entrepreneurship
Information from a 2017 report on the state of women-owned businesses by American Express
know the facts
Do you know the challenges that women in entrepreneurship face?
Traditionally, female business owners have been the minority in the world of business. However, that has begun to change in the past 20 years, with the number of female-owned businesses increasing by 114 percent since 1997. This is a rate 2.5 times greater than men, with the number of male-owned businesses only increasing by about 45 percent in the same time frame. As of 2018, women owned 39% of the small businesses in the country -- over 11 million businesses. Those businesses employ over 9 million people, and generated $1.7 trillion in revenue in 2018 alone. Huge strides have been made by female entrepreneurs, which is inspiring more and more women to open their own businesses.
​
Despite this, the country is still a long way from gender equality in entrepreneurship, with female-owned businesses only employing about 8 percent of the workforce, and only generating about 4 percent of the revenue in the country. In addition, national studies have shown that men are almost twice as likely to receive at least $100,000 in investments for their businesses when compared to women.
39% of small business owners in the United States are women
39%
61%
11 million women-owned businesses total
1.7 trillion in revenue is created by women-owned businesses
9 Million Employees are employed by women-owned businesses
More likely
4%
of Revenue in the U.S comes from women-owned businesses
Men are almost
2x
To receive at least $100,000 in business investments
8%
of the u.s workforce are employed by female-owned businesses
However, the most concerning statistic from these studies is that nearly 50 percent of female entrepreneurs cite a lack of mentorship as being one of the biggest hurdles that they had to overcome when starting their own business, with another 31 percent saying they lacked a good support system when starting their business.
50%
Of women entrepreneurs cite a lack of mentorship as a major challenge when launching their businesses
31%
Of women entrepreneurs believe they lacked a good support system when launching their businesses
This is where the Engler Program has stepped in to help. Engler saw the lack of support that many women have experienced when starting their own business, and have made it their mission to ensure that everyone in their program will be set up for success in their business ventures, regardless of gender.
Information from a 2017 report on the state of women-owned businesses by American Express