March 8, 2021 
Share This PostGreetings readers! It’s International Women’s Day, and while we like to celebrate the female every single day, it’s important to share that joy and pride with others at least once a year.
Women-owned businesses have always existed; however in recent years, especially after the “Me Too” movement, more attention has been focused on female leadership, women-owned business and the female entrepreneur. In addition, Black Lives Matter has brought new focus to minority female owned businesses. This year in honour of International Women’s Day we’d like to share some of the most recent statistics on women in business around the world. First, read below for how female-lead businesses are progressing – there is much to celebrate!
1. In 2017, women of colour accounted for 71% of the new female-owned businesses launched in the United States.
According to SmallBizGenius, from 1997 to 2017, the number of firms owned by women grew by 467% in the United States.
Over the past 20 years, US businesses owned by African-American women have increased by 259 per day. Latina-owned firms increased by 227 per day. Asian-American women-led businesses rose by 104 daily, Native American/Alaska Native companies increased by 15, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander by four.
2. Women own 46% of private businesses in Ghana.
This is according to a report completed in August of 2020, and if you compare the statistics, that means that Ghana ranks first when it comes to female-owned businesses by country. However, Ghanaian women generally start their businesses out of necessity, rather than desire, and many of the organisations have family members connected to the business as well.
4. 62% of women business owners are between 40 and 59 years old. (Note from our CEO, “we’re in this awesome category!”)
According to legaljobs.io, around 80% of these women have college degrees too. Maturity, experience, and gathering the knowledge necessary to build a successful business from the ground up takes time. This means that it takes years of dedication, commitment, and hard work to succeed in building connections, relationships, and capital to run a business effectively.
In addition to the above stats, we wanted to take a moment to celebrate just a small fraction of women-owned companies making headway in a variety of industries traditionally lead by men (young entrepreneurs, women who have branched out of their established careers to start their own businesses, and female leadership teams proving that when they do it together, we all thrive).
Carrie Rose’s agency Rise At Seven has been making big waves from the very beginning. They have recently offered uni students an incredible opportunity – take a gap year and learn on the job with a position at the company.
Reese Witherspoon, Queen Latifah and other women in Hollywood have created their own Production Companies after seeing a lack of quality entertainment for women – overseeing award-winning films and TV series such as “Gone Girl, Big Little Lies”, “Scream” and “Beauty Shop”.
Michelin-awarded chef Elizabeth Haigh. Elizabeth opened Mei Mei in London’s Borough Market in 2019 to rave reviews. Londoners love the Singaporean kopitiam food and drink, with the chicken rice regularly selling out. Mei Mei is going strong even during the COVID-19 pandemic, with pantry staples, meal kits and delivery available online.
Jenny Stanley of Appetite Creative founded Femme Niche to inspire and empower women to achieve great things. This year, their Twitter account has been sharing many important women from history and honoring the achievements of the current generation as well. Appetite Creative is an award winning branding and creative technology agency.
Jasmine Douglas – Jasmine started Babes On Waves, a business club that supports and empowers women in business to do big things, and with a special focus on inclusion in membership, BoW has a membership base that’s 80% women of colour.
