Gender Gap Narrowing In Business Study Shows Steady Increase In Women-Owned Businesses

After 15 years working in the airline industry in Spokane, Robin Ball decided she wanted more clout in her career.

“I really wanted something where I was more in control,” said Ball, who in July opened her own business - an indoor shooting range in Spokane.

A study of women-owned businesses released Monday by the Census Bureau would suggest Ball is not alone.

The study showed that in 1992, the most recent year for which figures are available, women owned 6.4 million businesses - about one-third of the nation’s firms. Those women-owned businesses had total revenue of $1.6 trillion and employed 13.2 million people.

For the first time, the report includes “C” corporations, so called because of their tax designation. They tend to be larger, with more employees and greater revenue than proprietorships and partnerships. Because “C” corporations haven’t been included in the report before, there’s no way to exactly compare the numbers with previous years.

However, without “C” corporations included, the number of women-owned businesses rose to 5.8 million in 1992 from 4.1 million in 1987 - a 41 percent increase. Revenue increased to $642 million, from $278 million.

In Washington state, the number of women-owned businesses rose 51 percent since 1987. There were 136,337 companies - or 36.6 percent of all businesses in the state - owned by women in 1992. Revenue totaled $16 million, compared with $68 million for all state firms.

In Idaho, the number of women-owned businesses rose 57.8 percent. The 29,946 companies owned by women in 1992 made up 33.8 percent of all businesses in the state. Revenue totaled $2.3 million, compared with $12.7 million for all state firms.

Mollie Cole, president of the Chicago-based National Association of Women’s Business Advocates, attributed the increase in women-owned businesses to the “funky” economy.

“There appear to be more opportunities for small businesses overall, and women continue to take advantage of those,” she said.

However, she added, “there is still a glass ceiling that exists.”

Despite the jump in business ownership, women still face gender bias when branching out on their own, she said.

“That may be attributed to the kind of businesses women tend to start,” she said. “They tend to be clustered in the service industry without a lot of hard, fixed assets.”

The report also found:

About 520,000 of the women-owned businesses nationally were “C” corporations. They generated $932 billion in revenue - nearly 60 percent of the revenue for all women-owned businesses.

Overall, 40 percent of all retail and service businesses are owned by women.

Growth rates for women businesses in non-traditional areas increased dramatically.

The number of construction firms rose more than 50 percent, and wholesale trade businesses jumped more than 85 percent.

, DataTimes