Statistics on Women in Business

It’s a phenomenon that has taken off quiet rapidly in the last fifty years, women working outside the home. Most of today’s children have both parents working outside the home; the thought of mom staying at home and keeping house is a far-fetched idea that is only seen on rerun episodes of Leave it to Beaver and the Brady Bunch. According to statistics, 47% of all workers are women and at least 72% of those women have minor children living at home.

Statistics also point to more and more women starting their own businesses, as well. Recent studies found that women owned businesses are growing at a rate of 43% between the years of 1997 and 2006; twice the average rate for US firms, in general. Most women owned businesses concentrate on services offered to other women, as well. Studies show that nearly 1 in 3 women owned firms operate services in the health care or social service assistance fields. At least another 38% of women owned business is focused in retail.

If one was to look at recent college graduate trends in comparison, the oddity of more female owned businesses starting and opening may not seem like to much of an oddity. The studies show that more women are graduating from college than men. According to recent statistics, only 46% of those attending our nation’s colleges are men. Even more interesting, those women attending colleges and universities are actually receiving better grades and more honors. Elite institutions like Harvard are seeing more women receiving honors than men upon graduation. Professional womens associations, the largest being our own NAPW, are becoming more and more vibrant.

Unfortunately, these statistics mean very little when one studies the overall job and career patterns of women in the workplace. It seems that stereotypical careers for women like teaching, nursing, and administration positions still account for the majority of women in the workforce. According to statistics, at least 50% of those women employed in the US are working in support positions with low paying occupations.

Salary gaps have always been an issue when discussing men and women in the workplace; the causes for this difference has been researched for years by experts, still the average woman continues to make 21 cents less on the dollar than her male counterpart. For those in the higher class brackets, corporate executives and millionaire earnings- even less. According to Forbes 25 highest-paid women, only one would rank in the top 25 if the lists were combined. CNN Money reported that in 2006, only 10 women ran one of the Fortune 500 Companies; and there were only 20 women running businesses in the top 1000. However, as more and more women continue to dominate on college campuses, there’s no doubt the trend will continue to the corporate arena. More and more women will most likely see job trends changing for the better and salary gaps closing; it’s just a matter of time.

This article does not necessarily reflect the views of The National Association of Professional Women. NAPW occasionally allows guests and members to post blogs of interest, however these blogs are not those of NAPW.