It seems that if women own businesses equally with men, or are a minority stakeholders, they are largely unaccounted for in the annals of women’s business research. Thus, while previously released estimates of women entrepreneurship show it to be a dynamic and fast-growing segment of the economy, it is far larger than originally thought.


        Here’s why: The U.S. Bureau of the Census excludes many businesses in which women play an equal or minority ownership and management role, including many of the largest women-owned and led firms. Approximately one in seven U.S. workers is employed by privately held majority women-owned firms or 50% women-owned firms. These statistics are not included in the more narrow definition (majority owned businesses) Census data collectors use to assess the economic impact of women-owned and operated businesses.


        According to the Center for Women's Business Reseach, when firms which are 50% owned by women are added to the composite, the results are staggering: 10.1 million businesses are privately held majority or 50% women-owned businesses. Taken together, these firms employ 18.2 million people and generate $2.32 trillion in sales. They are also a fast-growing segment, expanding faster than the economy in general, by more than 1 1/2 times the rate of all privately held firms (6%). Today, there are10.1 million women business owners in America, making one in 11 women an entrepreneur in her own right. This compares to the 6.2 million privately held, majority women-owned businesses previously reported.