Nation’s Women-Owned Firms Contribute Nearly $3 Trillion to U.S. Economy

Nation’s Women-Owned Firms Contribute Nearly $3 Trillion to U.S. Economy According to Groundbreaking Research 

 New study estimates that women-owned firms produce employment for 16% of U.S. workforce 

Women-owned businesses contribute nearly $3 trillion to our national economy and create or maintain 23 million jobs according to new research conducted by the Center for Women’s Business Research and funded by the National Women’s Business Council and Walmart. The Economic Impact of Women-Owned Businesses in the United States, adds to the current understanding of the economic contributions of women-owned firms that to date has relied only on number of firms, revenues and direct employment. For the first time, this research provides a much more comprehensive picture of the total economic impact of women-owned firms, including the impact of the businesses’ purchases AND the purchasing power of their employees and suppliers.  

This research illuminates the true economic contributions of women-owned firms and will have significant and wide-ranging impact for policymaking, economic development, and private investment focused on women business owners and their communities. Other major findings include: 

• Approximately 8% of the total labor force work directly for a woman-owned firm.
• If women-owned businesses were their own country, they would have the 5th largest GDP in the world, ahead of countries including France, the United Kingdom, and Italy.
• If women-owned businesses were their own country, they would have a greater GDP than Canada, India and Vietnam COMBINED.
• Industries where women-owned businesses have the highest revenues include Professional, scientific, technical services; Retail, wholesale; Business services; Communication, media; and Administrative, support, waste remediation.

“The National Women’s Business is proud to be a sponsor of this ground-breaking research,” stated NWBC Executive Director Margaret Barton. “In our role as advisors to the President, Congress, and SBA, the Council depends on this type of current data to make immediate fact-based policy recommendations to support the women’s business community.”  

Conducted by Dr. Hassan Pordeli of Jacksonville University, Peter Wynkoop of HPW Group, and Dr. Gwen Martin of the Center for Women’s Business Research, the research uses an economic modeling program to estimate the economic impact of women-owned firms based on primary data on the revenues and employment of these businesses. The total economic impact is a combination of direct spending by the firms, indirect spending by suppliers, and induced spending by employees of the firms and their suppliers. ”Women-owned firms employ or generate a total of 16% of the jobs in our nation’s economy,” said Gwen Martin, executive director and director of research for the Center for Women’s Business Research. “Job creation is desperately needed in our country today. A job not only supports a worker, it provides for a family, and creates purchasing power that supports local and national economies.”

http://www.womensbusinessresearchcenter.org/Data/newsroom/pressreleases/2009pressreleases/economicimpactmeas/cfwbreconomicimpact.release.100209.pdf  *above press release can be found at this web address*