Throughout the years, women have been occupying a broader range of fields in the workplace. From being completely turned away from CEO and entrepreneurial positions, their history in the work force has taken a major turn in the past two decades
Today, female owned businesses have become their own industry that only seems to be growing, with a 114% increase in the last 25 years.
Going back in history
As we delve back into history, we can see that women began occupying positions in the workforce from World War II.
When war broke out, men were the ones who enlisted in the military which left the women to take up their positions. This led to a crucial turning point for women as they were considered relevant members of the workforce. From 1940 to 1945, the percentage of working women rose by almost 10%.
During the 60’s and 70’s divorce rates were skyrocketing alongside the presence of women in universities. Single mothers began to view entrepreneurship as the ideal solution to their financial situations.
Since the 80’s and 90’s, women significantly began occupying working positions like never before, today, constituting 47% of the global workforce. 2020 held an historic high of 37 female CEOs in Fortune 500 companies.
The importance of female owned businesses
The idea of independence has tempted women for centuries. With feminist movements redefining societal notions since 1848, equality in the workforce has been long overdue. The process has moved gradually throughout the years and remains somewhat of a sensitive subject for many officials, who refuse to comply with equal pay and equal rights in the workforce. As difficult as it has been, women have been driven by their passions and have fairly earned their titles as CEOs and entrepreneurs.
Being given the tools to transform their own financial futures, women no longer feel like dependent and inferior members of society. They have decided to take power and become independent without the input of others.
The aftermath created a tremendous spike in female owned businesses, with 252 million women entrepreneurs around the world and 153 million who operate well established businesses. In 2021 there were 47% female entrepreneurs in comparison to 44% of male workers.
Female-led businesses have become pioneers across multiple vertical sectors, such as healthcare. In 2021, 10% of female-owned businesses took up space in the healthcare industry.
Moving forward
There’s no doubt that women are taken seriously when it comes to entrepreneurship. However, they are still faced with inequalities such as unequal pay. Women receive an average loan size of $39,000, while men receive an average loan size of $44,000. In addition, only a smaller percentage, 13% of females participate in certain environments such as high tech and construction.
Women have come a long way over the past century and earned their place in the boardroom, but there is still room to grow and places to sit. Continued grassroots work and empowerment of you women and girls must continue, along with encouragement into STEM subjects and other areas of study where they have previously been unable to hold space is.
