ABSTRACT

As women defi ne what having it all means to them, many are choosing entrepreneurship as the path that works for them. According to American Express OPEN’s State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, there are more than 8.3 million women-owned businesses in the United States, representing approximately $1.3 trillion in revenue and employing almost 7.7 million people. The growth of these businesses has outpaced all but the largest publicly traded companies. The number of women-owned businesses increased 54 percent between 1997 and 2012, a time when the number of total businesses in the United States increased by only 37 percent. And women CEOs aren’t just excelling in stereotypical women-friendly industries; in the construction industry, for example, 13 percent of women-owned fi rms are generating more than $500,000 per year.