Over the last seven years, the amount of women-owned businesses continues to climb in numbers around the world, across various cultures, nationalities, and demographics. In the United States alone, women-owned brands and businesses all the way to female entrepreneurs represent 42% of the national total, equating to nearly 13 million businesses. Not only are they contributing roughly $1.9 trillion towards the economy but these businesses also provide approximately 9.4 million jobs to the American workforce – the impact of female-led and ran businesses is simply undeniable.
Challenges in the Workforce
While the number of women in business and female entrepreneurs continues to grow, that doesn’t mean it has been an easy ride. The Thomson Reuters Foundation, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation, undertook a global study to report the critical concerns of over 9,500 women in the workplace in G20 nations. Even in the twenty-first century, the study reported that women face several challenges on a daily basis including unequal pay, unequal treatment, and underrepresentation; with four in every 10 women expressing that the gender pay gap is a key issue at work, and seven nations of the G20 listing this as their nation’s women’s top concern.
Other challenges women continue to face are work-life balance, harassment, lower opportunities for growth and development, and family planning. Certain countries trend one way, while others focus in a different direction. For example, workplace harassment continues to be in the top five concerns of women across the world, with almost one-third of women admitting to having experienced harassment but more than 60% don’t say or report the case. Indian women are the most likely country to report the misconduct however, coming in at roughly 53%. In 2012, there was a fatal attack of a female student on a bus in Delhi and this surge in reporting harassment is due largely in part to this situation.
United States Businesses Led by Women – The Top Five
The Women’s President Organization (WPO) in partnership with American Express, published a study in 2020 that reported the fastest growing female-owned and led companies from across the United States spanning the years 2014-2019 – with the top 50 businesses covering a vast amount of demographics and industries. Explore below the top five businesses.
- TKT & Associates, Inc.: Founded in 2006 by the late Tierra Kavanaugh Wayne, the organization provides diversity management, innovative workforce solutions, and outsourcing opportunities, and is considered the fastest-growing woman-owned business as of 2019. They saw significant growth from 2017-to 2019 when they tripled their employee count and brought in $134,763,762 in revenue in 2019.
- Enspire Energy: Based in Virginia and led by Mary Hensley and Julie Hashagen, this energy marketing company utilizes vast industry knowledge mixed with experience to continue their strategic growth as they provide natural gas pricing services.
- Modere: Run by Asma Ishaq, this lifestyle brand has seen extreme success in revenue and hiring growth as it aims to make a lasting impact on the health and wellness sector – namely how they can create exciting and new opportunities for unprecedented product categories.
- Tal Ex: Led by Amrita Grewal, this white-glove HR, Talent & Staffing Management firm provides clients with a people-focused solution mindset with a thoughtful and customizable team.
- Battaglia Associates, Inc.: Led by Christine Meyer, this general contracting firm specializes in commercial and industrial services and materials in the United States.
Women in Business –Technology Helps to Progress Forward
While the stakes have been stacked against them, women-owned businesses, female entrepreneurs and women-led brands continue to push forward and break barriers along the way. Even with all of the disadvantages that have come their way, they are a major contributor to their national economies. Female-owned businesses are no longer just a side-addition to explore, but it is now a huge market in and of itself.
Cultural progression aside, technology has played a huge role in making this upsurge possible. If women are the main caretakers at home, technology has made working virtually a plausible option for many companies as well as extremely normalized. Furthermore, technology and its advances have made entrepreneurship more accessible and streamlined, fully enabling women to launch successful businesses in their own right.
