A Boom in Women-Owned Firms
More and more women are starting
their own businesses
Statistics compiled by the U S Small
Business Administration show that
women owned small firms arc increas­
ing three times as fast as the number of
male owned companies Other govern
mem statistics show that one in every
four sole proprietorships in the country
today is headed by a woman and that
receipts of women owned businesses
have increased 112 percent in recent
years
SBA officials cite three factors as con
Irihuting to the sharp increase in
women owned firms
Because more and more women arc
entering the nation's work force,
women arc acquiring skills and ex
periencc that can he translated into
entrepreneurship
Because of business and academic
education, women are positioning
themselves for business opportunities in
expanding fields, such as aerospace,
telecommunications, electronics and
biomedical engineering
Because of the nation's overall
growth more opportunities arc
available (or new business startups,
especially in service industries Almost
half of women owned small (inns are
in the service sector
been increasing at an annual rate of 10
percent or more in seven major types
of businesses The chan below tells this
story
fem ale Operated Businesses with Annual
(irowth Rates of It) Percent or More,
1977-1982
Type of
Business
Annual Rate of
Growth (Percent)
Business Services
Management and Public Relations
.Services Io Buildings
22.3
IK 3
Medical and Health Services
Miscellaneous Medical and
Health Services
Nursing and Personal Care
Facilities
12 0
|7 9
Professional Services
leg al Services
Accounting. Auditing.
and Bookkeeping
27 I
|5 5
Finance, Insurance and Real F.state
Security Brokers and Dealers
78 3
Commodity Contract Brokers and
Exchange Services
219
Insurance Agents. Brokers and
Services
21 0
Manufacturing
Apparel and Other Textile
Production
23 9
Construction
President Reagan's Annual Report on
General Building Contractors
the Slate of Small Business, prepared
hy SBA s Office of Advocacy, shows
that women owned businesses have
Animal Services Except l.ivestcxk
(9 1
Agriculture Service*
13 ft