A V I E W F R O M T H E F R O N T

L I N E S

T H E S T A T E O F W O M E N ’ S E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I P I N T H E U . S .

J U L I E R W E E K S , W O M E N A B L E

A R O U N D T H E

W O R L D , W O M E N …

• Own between 1/4 to 1/3 of

formal-sector enterprises

worldwide

• Are estimated to own 224

million firms, with 56% of

them new or nascent

• Are starting businesses at

faster rates than are men

H O W E V E R ,

W O M E N A R E

A L S O …

• Less likely than men to start

businesses

• Less likely to scale/grow

those enterprises

• More likely to have lower

perceptions of their

capabilities and higher levels

of fear of failure

W H Y D O

T H E S E G A P S

M A T T E R ?

• 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

J U L I E ’ S

E N T R E P R E N E U R I A

L J O U R N E Y

• Leelanau & DC roots

• Youthful political activism &

feminism

• MOR SBA CWBR

NWBC Womenable

• Numbers knowledge

action

T W O F O U N D I N G M O T H E R S O F

I N V E N T I O N

M A R Y K A T H E R I N E G O D D A R D

( 1 7 3 8 - 1 8 1 6 ) ~ N E W S P A P E R

P U B L I S H E R , P R I N T E R O F T H E

D E C L A R A T I O N O F

I N D E P E N D E N C E

M A D A M C . J . W A L K E R ( 1 8 6 7 -

1 9 1 9 ) ~ B E A U T Y S H O P O W N E R ,

W O M E N ’ S E M P O W E R M E N T

L E A D E R , M I L L I O N A I R E S S

W O M E N

A D V A N C I N G I N

E D U C A T I O N …

• 8% of women attained

college degrees in 1970

• 37% of women attained

college degrees in 2010 -

nearly a five-fold increase

A M O N G A D U L T W O M E N A G E D 2 5 + , C E N S U S B U R E A U

… I N T H E

W O R K F O R C E

…

• 43% of adult women were

in the workforce in 1970

• 59% of adult women in the

workforce by 2010 - a 37%

increase

B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T I S T I C S

… I N

M A N A G E M E N T …

• 35% of working women

held managerial positions

in 1970

• 41% held managerial

positions as of 2010

(down from 50% in 2000)

B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T I S T I C S

… A N D I N

B U S I N E S S

O W N E R S H I P

• ?? of businesses were

owned by women in 1970

• 30% of businesses are

owned by women as of

2014

A M E R I C A N E X P R E S S O P E N / W O M E N A B L E

H R 5 0 5 0 : T H E

“ B I G B A N G ” O F

W O M E N ’ S

E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I

P

• Extend ECOA to business

credit

• Count ALL women-owned

firms

• Establish WBCs

• Establish NWBC

T H E N U M B E R O F

W O M E N - O W N E D

F I R M S I S

G R O W I N G

• The # of WOBs has grown

at 1-1/2 times the rate of all

firms (68% vs. 47% from

1997-2014)

• As of 2014, there are 9.1

million women-owned firms,

employing 7.9 million

people and generating $1.4

trillion in revenues

A M E R I C A N E X P R E S S O P E N / W O M E N A B L E

T H E I R E C O N O M I C

C L O U T I S

I N C R E A S I N G

• Since the 2007-08

recession, net new jobs

have come from large,

public corporations … AND

women-owned firms

• The number of $10M+

WOBs is up 57% vs. +38%

among all such firms

A M E R I C A N E X P R E S S O P E N / W O M E N A B L E

T H E I R

D I V E R S I T Y I S

G R O W I N G

• Women lead sectoral

growth in 8 of 11 top

industries

• Women of color now own

1:3 WOBs, up from 1:6 in

1997

A M E R I C A N E X P R E S S O P E N / W O M E N A B L E

W H A T A B O U T

M I C H I G A N ?

• 261,400 women-owned firms,

employing 247,600 workers,

generating $31.8B in revenue

• 31% of firms in MI are women-

owned

• Ranked 43rd out of 50 states

(+DC) in terms of growth in

economic clout

S O M E

L E S S O N S

L E A R N E D

• One size DOES NOT fit all:

targeted support is critical

• Policy intervention:

necessary but not sufficient

• Advocacy, women’s voices

matter

• The importance of

unassailable facts

W H A T ’ S O N

T H E

H O R I Z O N ?

• Greater attention to BEE

• The issue of SCALE

• How SUCCESS is defined

• Understanding the journey:

express lanes or the

SCENIC ROUTE?

“The future belongs to

those who believe in the

beauty of their dreams.”

~ E L E A N O R R O O S E V E L T