Weeks address at Global Women's Summit, 16 November 2001

Trends in Women’s Entrepreneurship

Think Globally & Locally,

Act Locally & Globally

Julie R. Weeks

President & CEO

Womenable

If You Remember Nothing Else …

• We know a lot more, but not enough

• Gender gaps are real, vary widely globally, but may not always be what we think they are

• Action lags knowledge

• Exhortation alert: the Womenable Manifesto

Do Women and Men Have Equality of Circumstance & Opportunity? Not Yet

Economic Participation

Educational Attainment

Political Participation

Health & Survival 0

50

100

Source: World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2011

The Playing Field is NOT Level

• Women only own 1% of the world’s property

• There are 1 or more legal differences between women and men that limit women’s economic opportunity in ¾ of economies studied

• In all MENA countries, women have fewer inheritance rights than men

• In 2/3 of countries, legal rights of women decline with marriage

• 44 countries restrict # hrs women can work; 71 restrict types of industries

Entrepreneurial Prevalence Rates Consistently Lower for Women

Women Men Women Men Women Men

7.611.7 14.4

19.6

4.38.2

4.6

8.26.6

12.2

3.6

7.9

EstablishedEarly stage

Low/Mid Income Low/Mid High IncomeEurope/Asia Income LAC Countries

% A

dults

Ow

ning

a B

usin

ess

19.9% 21%

31.8%

7.9%

16.1%

Source: Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, Women & Entrepreneurship report, 2007

12.2%

What Do We Know About Women Business Owners Globally?

• Women typically own 1/4 to 1/3 of formal sector businesses

• Women own a much larger share of informal enterprises

• Entrepreneurial prevalence rates for women lower than for men

• Legal, cultural barriers greater for women business owners in certain regions of the world

“Globally, women control 65% of consumer discretionary spending. By 2028, they will control 75%.”~ Boston Consulting Group (2009)

“Closing the gap between male and female employment rates would have huge implications for the global economy – boosting US GDP by as much as 9%, Eurozone GDP by 13%, and Japanese GDP by 16%.”~ Goldman Sachs (2007)

The International Development Community is Taking Up the Challenge

• New UN Women superagency

• World Bank – Global Development report; IFC women in business team

• OECD, APEC, IADB, AfDB, ADB all focused on WED

• International development agencies - DCED

The State of Women-Owned Firms in the United States

• Women-owned firms in US continue to grow in number at rates exceeding nat’l average

• Increasing diversity – by industry sector and ethnically

• Still “punch below weight” in employment & revenue – but deeper analysis adds new insights

Women Own Nearly 1 in 3 US BusinessesYet Contribute a Much Smaller Share of Employment, Revenue

% S

hare

, 201

1

American Express OPEN/Womenable estimates as of 2011, based on 1997-2007 data from US Census Bureau.

Growth in Number of Women-Owned Firms Exceeds National AverageBut Women-Owned Firms Lag in Employment/Revenue Growth

% C

han g

e, 1

997-

2 011


Women-Owned Firms Found in All IndustriesIncreasing Diversity Means We Can Retire “Non-Traditional”

% S

hare

Wom

en-o

wne

d w

/in

Indu

s try


29% among all industries

Average Per Firm Revenue in Women-Owned Firms Matches That in Male-Owned Firms – Up Until 500 Employee/$1M Revenue Marks

1-4/<$10K 5-9/$10-24.9K

10-19/$25-49.9K

20-49/$50-99.9K

50-99/$100-499K

100-499$500-

999K

500+/$1M+

9598 99 98 98 99

91

97 97 99 98 99 99

71

EmploymentRevenue

Avg. Employment/Revenue Per Firm

WO

B Av

g/M

OB

Avg


Revenue Growth of Women-Owned Firms Exceeds Nat’l Average Except at $1M+ LevelMen-Owned Firms Lag Behind All But the Smallest Firms

% G

row

th in

Rev

enu e

s, 1

9 97-

2011


Revenue Size of Firm

Overall avg revenue growth: 71.4%

Employment Growth of Women-Owned Firms Matches Nat’l Average Until 100-Employee Mark

% G

row

th in

Em

plo y

men

t , 19

97-2

0 11


Employment Size of Firm

Overall avg employment growth: 16.8%

What About Women Business Owners Themselves?

• Manage & lead differently

• Motivations broader than dollars and cents

• Take a less linear path to and through business ownership

• From the outside, this can be mistaken for indecisiveness, risk-aversion, lack of ambition

Square Pegs into Round Holes, or …?

Why can't a woman be more like a man? Men are so honest, so thoroughly square;

Eternally noble, historic'ly fair; Who, when you win, will always give your

back a pat. Well, why can't a woman be like that?

Why does ev'ryone do what the others do?

Can't a woman learn to use her head? Why do they do ev'rything their mothers do? Why don't they grow up - well, like their father

instead? Why can't a woman take after a man?

The Womenable Manifesto

• Words matter: we need a lexicon leavening/terminology transplant

• Policies with possibility not proscription

• Programmatic/organizational collaboration, not competition

• Building an entrepreneurial “interstate system”

Words Matter: Changing our Lexicon

• Risk averse Risk aware

• Lifestyle business Bedrock/foundational business

• Less than Different from

How Should We Define Success?

• More than money

• Double, triple bottom line – measurement is key

• ROI, SROI

• 501(c)(3), B corporations

Policies with Possibility not Proscription;Organizations That Collaborate

• Golden handcuffs of WBC program

• One size fits all vs. one building/many doors

• Filling in missing links/linkages

• Organizational cooperation – a pipedream?

Building Entrepreneurial “Roads and Bridges”

• Building connections from an entrepreneur’s perspective (advisors, supporters, markets)

• Growth onramps (and offramps)

• A plethora of pathways (highways, secondary roads, scenic routes)

The World Needs Economically Empowered Women

• Workers in more gender-balanced teams are more engaged (Gallup)

• Diversity creates better groups, business outcomes and societies (Scott Page, University of Michigan)

• Women-led equity-backed firms yield higher ROI, lower failure (Illuminate Ventures)

• Countries w/ more economically empowered women have higher GDP, less violence (Stevenson/Lundstrom, United Nations)

X

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that

we are powerful beyond measure … Your playing small doesn’t serve the world …

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people

permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear,

our presence automatically liberates others.”

~ Marianne Williamson, author & founder of The Peace Alliance

Weeks address at Global Women's Summit, 16 November 2001

Business

Transcript of Weeks address at Global Women's Summit, 16 November 2001