According to an article from the LA Times and an estimate from American Express, female owned business have increased by 59% since 1995. That is more than double in less than 20 years, 7o odd years removed from Rosie the Riveter.
That is to say, 8.6 million firms that are generating more than $1.3 trillion in revenue and employing nearly 7.8 million people, according to the 2013 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report from American Express. And none more so than in the state of California.
California is home to an estimated 1.1 million businesses owned by women, employing 983,000 people and generating about $198 million in sales, according to the report. For all that surfing and all “them gays,” the state is a significant force that other states shouldn’t be so quick to judge. In fact, the amount of money generated by female-owned businesses in the state of California dwarfs the entire economies of a few of the 49 states that make up the United States. I don’t count Texas, it’s a different country and Texans are happy to tell you about it any time they are given a chance. The Republic of Texas in its own right, houses an estimated 737,000 businesses owned by woman.
California is home to 1.1 million businesses owned by women, employing 983,000 people. Meaning, “no you’re a misogynist” a number of woman own multiple businesses. Or I need to get back to the math textbooks. Additionally, one in three of those businesses are minority owned. Something to think about before employing “lazy” as an adjective for our south of the border sisters.
Pegging back my Feminist Friday is the fact that the highest concentrations of women-owned businesses were in the areas of health and social assistance, educational services and administrative support.
Additionally, women-owned firms in construction, transportation and finance didn’t do as well, the study said.
Oddly this didn’t help me pick my “March Madness” bracket, the states with the fastest growth of women-owned businesses were Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, Louisiana and Nevada.
Alaska, West Virginia, Iowa, Ohio and Kansas had the slowest growth.
Next year I will pick my bracket based on the strength of symphony orchestras located near each university and will guess that I still won’t have Wichita State this deep in the competition.
