ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the state of women in business in the United States. It explores the progress of women in education, management and entrepreneurship. The chapter examines legislation supporting women in management and current initiatives supporting employed women. Programmes like this are helping to increase the motivation and success of women entrepreneurs in taking the first step of starting a business or taking the next leap in making the business more successful. Increasing legal actions against sex discrimination have prompted many companies to develop initiatives for recruiting, retaining and advancing women in management. Women in management and executive positions increased from 31 percent in 2004 to 50 percent in 2008, and four out of 16 general management positions at Baxter are currently held by women. Although the initiatives above provide reasons to be optimistic about US women in management, progress in some areas continues to be extremely slow.
