Between 1997 and 2006 the number of privately held 51% or more women-owned businesses...

• number 7.7 million, accounting for 29.7% of all businesses in the US;
• grown nearly twice the rate of all US firms (42.3% compared to 23.3%);
• employ 7.2 million people, increasing employment growth by .4%;
• generate $1.1 trillion in annual sales (4.4% increase);

In the United States, privately-held 50% or more women-owned businesses...

• number 10.4 million, accounting for 40.2% of all businesses in the country;
• generate 12.8 million jobs;
• contribute $1.9 trillion in sales to the economy.
  

Overall, women business owners...

• with revenues of $1 million or more are more likely than smaller companies to have large corporations (34% vs. 12%) and government (31% vs. 8%) as their primary clients;
• 15% of businesses with revenues of $1 million or more say their primary market is international
• in nontraditional industries are just as likely to have $1 million or more in revenues as men-owned firms, and 80% have employees--the same percentage as men;
• over half (57%) have a line of credit for their business and 41% have a commercial bank loan;
• are becoming more active in the equity capital markets, but in a survey conducted in late 1999, just 9% of the institutional investment deals and 2.3% of the dollars among the investors interviewed went to women-owned firms;
• are more likely than all firms to offer flextime, tuition reimbursement and, at a smaller size, profit sharing to their workers;
• voice similar needs for their business' development - access to capital, access to education/training, access to networks and markets and to be taken seriously.
  
  

In Pennsylvania, women-owned firms...

• number 348,372;
• provide employment for 631,591 workers in the Commonwealth;
• generate sales of $80 billion;
• average 7th in the nation when ranked by the above data.
  
  Click on graph to enlarge image

In the Pittsburgh MSA, women-owned firms...

• number 43,111;
• provide employment for 66,000 of the region’s workers;
• generate sales of $7.9 billion.

Source: 2006, Center for Business Research, founded as the National Foundation for Women Business Owners and the U.S. Census Bureau.