Entrepreneurship & Small Business Development

New research indicates that women are leaving the corporate world at twice the rate of men. Many of these women are choosing to go into business for themselves. The Center for Women’s Business Research estimates that there are about 10.1 million privately-held women-owned firms in the United States, accounting for two out of every five businesses in the country. These firms generate $1.9 trillion in annual sales and employ 13 million people nationwide. In 1994, legislation was passed requiring the federal government to award a minimum of 5 percent of its contracts to women-owned businesses, a target that has never been met. There are currently no incentives, government departments or agencies tasked with enforcement and no consequences for failing to meet designated targets. Researchers in our network are working to improve guidelines and compliance to benefit women-run businesses.

Gina Rinehart, the world's richest woman, will one day own it

Teaser:

Gina Rinehart is now the richest woman in the world, surpassing the $25 billion of Christy Walton, the widow of Wal-Mart founder John Walton, who still has a major stake in the US retail giant.

Editorial:

From the Herald Sun:

Riding Australia's resources boom like no one else, BRW magazine's annual rich list yesterday revealed the 58-year-old mining magnate's wealth has ballooned by an unparalleled $18.87 billion in the past year to $29.17 billion.

That equates to $598 a second, more than $1 million for every half an hour - and almost $52 million a day.

Ms Rinehart is now the richest woman in the world, surpassing the $25 billion of Christy Walton, the widow of Wal-Mart founder John Walton, who still has a major stake in the US retail giant.

Ms Rinehart's meteoric rise led experts to speculate she is a serious contender to become the world's richest person. She would have to pass the $69 billion fortune of Mexican telco mogul Carlos Slim.

Source:

Herald Sun

URL:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/business/companies/gine-rinehart-the-worlds-richest-woman-will-one-day-own-it/story-fndgp8b1-1226365081475

Date:

May 23, 2012

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The Real Reason Women Are More Likely to Fly Solo When It Comes to Work

Teaser:

Barbara & Shannon Kelley look at women who opt out of the mommy track and instead work for themselves.

Editorial:

From the Huffington Post:

I came across an interesting study the other day that found that when it comes to independent work -- freelancing, consulting, you name it -- those indie workers are more likely to be women. According toMBO Partners' Independent Workforce Index, some 8.5 million women are choosing to fly solo when it comes to work, making up 53 percent of all independent workers.

It's all about work life balance and career satisfaction, the study found, adding that many of the women they surveyed are finding their choice to go it alone more rewarding than traditional work.

Sounds quite dreamy, doesn't it?

But when you look beyond the numbers, you realize there's more involved here than the entrepreneurial spirit or the freedom to go to work in your jammies -- which, when you come right down to it, really isn't all that dreamy. One reason for the growing number of women saying "oh, phooey" to the land of nine-to-five may speak to something beyond career satisfaction, and that's the workplace itself, which still skews a little Mad Men, where, for every Don behind the desk, there's a Betty at home to take care of business. (Okay, Betty's been replaced, but you get my point.)

This is especially true for women with kids. Back when we were doing research and reporting for ourbook, we came across a relevant study by Joan Williams, who's a professor at the University of California Hastings College of the Law and director of the Hastings Center for WorkLife Law. Her report, The Three Faces of Work-Family Conflict, authored with the Center for American Progress, found that women with families were often marginalized or even pushed out when their jobs demanded 24/7 availability or when "full time" meant fifty hours a week or more.

[...]

Source:

Huffington Post

URL:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shannon-kelley/women-and-work_b_1480152.html

Date:

May 8, 2012

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IPOs Are Still A Man’s Game, Study Of MBA Students Says

Teaser:

The Wall Street Journal reports on an experiment conducted recently at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business that reveals that "those firms led by women…were expected to have less share-price appreciation, and when asked to invest, respondents would choose to invest less,”

Editorial:

From The Wall Street Journal:

More and more women over the last decade have climbed the corporate ladder into top management, but if they’re leading a company that’s trying to go public, they’re more likely to run into trouble than men.

Female chief executives are perceived as less capable than males, according to an experiment conducted recently at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business, and the companies that women lead are seen as less attractive investments.

“The big result of this study is that those firms led by women…were expected to have less share-price appreciation, and when asked to invest, respondents would choose to invest less,” said Assistant Professor Lyda Bigelow.

The negative feelings did not extend to companies with women in high levels of management, she added—just to the ones where women were chief executives.

[..]

A copy of the study, which has been accepted for publication by the Journal of Management, is here.

Source:

The Wall Street Journal

URL:

http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2012/05/03/ipos-are-still-a-man%E2%80%99s-game-study-says/?mod=google_news_blog

Date:

May 4, 2012

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Women’s Presses Tweak Their Business Models

Teaser:

Publishers Weekly roundup of the status of feminish publishers.

Editorial:

From Publishers Weekly:

Approximately a dozen women’s presses are actively publishing in the U.S. today, down from about 30 during the 1990s, when feminist publishing and bookselling were at their peak. There are, additionally, several women’s presses sporadically publishing, and a few others putting out regional titles with limited distribution.

While fewer presses specialize in feminist books, those doing so are holding their own in the marketplace, and a few are thriving. Most of the presses contacted by PW reported that sales are steady, while Aunt Lute Books reported a 20% increase in sales this past year, and Seal Press reported a 23% increase.

Several of these publishers are maintaining their viability by redefining what it means to be a feminist press or expanding their operations. All are focusing on publishing books that do well in backlist, such as Seal’s fall 2012 release of Lynn Fairweather’s Stop Signs, a title about domestic violence that the press hopes will generate the same kind of sales as a related 1982 release, Getting Free (100,000 copies), did.

[...]

Source:

Publishers Weekly

URL:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/51622-women--s-presses-tweak-their-business-models.html

Date:

April 23, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Expert Profile

Location:

United States

38° 54' 29.0844" N, 77° 2' 26.214" W

See map: Google Maps

Deborah L. Frett joined the Business and Professional Women's Foundation (BPW) as CEO in May 2005 after more than 30 years of providing strategic direction and executive management to associations as well as for-profit and start-up organizations. She is a leading advocate for working women, women veterans, green job development for women, Gen Y women in the workplace and redefining the workplace to meet the needs of the 21st century. She is a frequent speaker and panelist and has provided congressional testimony and served as an expert for briefings on issues impacting working women, families, and veterans.

Location

Washington, DC 20036

United States

38° 54' 29.0844" N, 77° 2' 26.214" W

See map: Google Maps

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Submitted by asklar on Wed, 03/14/2012 - 10:18am

The 2012 World Development Report on Gender Equality and Development finds that women's lives around the world have improved dramatically, but gaps remain in many areas. The authors use a conceptual framework to examine progress to date, and then recommend policy actions.

URL:

http://go.worldbank.org/CQCTMSFI40

Women-Owned Firms in the United States

Submitted by asklar on Sun, 03/11/2012 - 11:59pm

Every five years, the U.S. Census completes an extensive Survey of Business Owners (SBO) that examines businesses by the gender of the business owner. This is the only comprehensive, regularly collected source of information on the economic and demographic characteristics of businesses across the country by gender, ethnicity, race, and veteran status. The SBO is authorized by Title 13 of the United States Code and responses are mandatory. The data on women-owned businesses provided by the Census is the main source of demographic information used by the NWBC.

The 2007 data was fully released in June 2011, so the NWBC commissioned a private research company to study this data in-depth. The data was analyzed by different characteristics to further expand the current understanding of women-owned businesses and to search for any interesting or unique findings that bear further study.

URL:

http://nwbc.gov/research/women-owned-firms-united-states

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What We Do

NCRW is a network of leading university and community based research, policy, and advocacy centers with a growing global reach dedicated to advancing rights and opportunities for women and girls. We also have a Corporate Circle comprised of senior diversity professionals from leading U.S. and global member companies and a Presidents Circle of college and university leaders who share our commitment. NCRW harnesses the collective power of its network to provide knowledge, analysis, and thought leadership on issues ranging from reducing women’s poverty to building a critical mass of women’s leadership across sectors.

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