Women in business

Last updated

The phrase women in business refers to female businesspeople who hold positions, particularly leadership in the fields of commerce, business, and entrepreneurship. It advocates for their increased participation in business.

Contents

Increased participation of women in business can be important for variation in business development, ideas, and business products. [1] Participation also encourages the development of social networks and supports that have positive repercussions for women and for their social environment. [2]

The status of women in business varies significantly around the world. Sometimes a lack of adequate business capital, female education, and training programs in the use of technology can mean women are more constrained by their social and political environment than men. [3]

History

The earliest known well-documented businesswoman is the Sumerian Ama-e whom was involved in various trades and real estate investments (circa 2330 BC). [4]

Another example of a well-documented businesswoman is an Assyrian businesswoman of the city of Assur named Ahaha, who operated in the 1800s BC. She is known for pursuing the resolution to an issue of financial fraud committed against her. [5]

Women in corporate leadership

Right now, around the world, only 28% of leadership roles are held by women. That means the vast majority of decisions impacting our communities, economies, and environment are being made without equal representation from half the population. [6]

In 2014, Peterson Institute for International Economics surveyed nearly 22,000 companies across the world. They found almost 60% had no female board members. Just over 50% had no female C-suite executives, and fewer than 5% had a female CEO. The results varied across countries: Norway, Latvia, Slovenia, and Bulgaria had at least 20% female representation at senior executive and board level. Japan, however, had only 2% female representation at board level and 2.5% at senior executive level.

The report on their survey, published in 2016, found having more women in overall executive positions correlated to greater profitability at organizations: "Going from having no women in corporate leadership (the CEO, the board, and other C-suite positions) to a 30% female share is associated with a one-percentage-point increase in net margin — which translates to a 15% increase in profitability for a typical firm." [7]

A 2015 study of 400 female C-suite executives by Ernst & Young and ESPN found that there was a positive correlation between athletics and corporate success. Over 52% of C-suite executives played competitive sports, compared to 39% of women at lower management levels. [8] [9] of the executives included on Fortune's 2017 list of Most Powerful Women, 65% played competitive sports in high school, college, or both. [10]

In 2023, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women released a report summarizing the global state of women in leadership positions. [11] [6] The report covered data from 165 countries, and concluded that while women are catching up in terms of education, women are still "underrepresented in management positions in the workplace". [12]

Corporate leadership in the United States

As of February 2023, in the US, women hold 29.2% of senior-level positions in S&P 500 companies [13] (of which 8.2% are CEO positions). [14] There are approximately 2 women per board; the average S&P 500 board consists of 11 members. This is despite women being 46.8% of the workforce, and controlling more than 50% of personal wealth in the US along with approximately 75% of household spending. [15] One in nine corporations on the Fortune 500 list still do not include any women on their board. [16] [17]

50/50 Women on Boards, established in 2010 to advocate for an increase of female positions at board level and greater board level gender equality, states that as of December 2022 women held 28.4% of the Russell 3000 Index company board seats, with women of color holding only 7% of seats. [18] The 28.4% figure represents a 1.7 percentage-point increase from December 2021. [19]

Catalyst, a US-based non-profit research organization, reported that having a higher percentage of female board directors was positively associated with companies' scores on four of six Corporate Social Performance dimensions: environment, community, customers, and supply chain. [20] Catalyst also found a positive correlation between companies' board diversity and philanthropic giving.

Given the projected talent deficit that will follow the retirement of millions of 'Baby Boomer' managers and executives over the next 20 years, [21] female leaders may be seen by an increasing number of employers as an untapped source of talent, experience and senior-management leadership. [21] However, a 2018 study showed female CEOs are 45% more likely to be fired than their male counterparts, even if they are doing a good job. [22]

Women as entrepreneurs

Share of firms with female top managers by region Share of firms with female top managers, OWID.svg
Share of firms with female top managers by region

In the 59 economies included in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor research project, female entrepreneurship ranges from just over 1.5% to 45.4% of the adult female population. [23] Although entrepreneurial activity among women is highest in emerging economies (45.5%), the proportion of all female entrepreneurs varies considerably: from 16% in South Korea to 55% in Ghana (the only economy with more female entrepreneurs). [23] Moreover, in many emerging economies, women are now starting a business faster than men, making significant contributions to job creation and economic growth. Women are also more likely to start businesses focused on sustainability. [24] [25] [26]

Developing countries

A disproportionate share of female-owned businesses in developing countries today are either small or medium enterprises, which often do not mature as a result of negative growth and poverty. Understanding the specific barriers women's businesses face and providing solutions to address them is necessary to further leverage the economic power of women for growth and the attainment of development goals. [23]

Nigeria

Nigeria is currently the leading economy in Africa and holds much potential growth for female entrepreneurs. [27] Women in leadership roles do not significantly differ from men in Nigeria, indicating there is significant growth potential once barriers to entry have been removed. [28]

Kazakhstan

The government of Kazakhstan supports the development of female-led small and medium businesses. For example, in cooperation with EBRD, Kazakhstan executes the Women in Business program. The budget of the program is $50 million. [29] Empowerment of Women in the Corporate Sector is an international forum held in Astana, Kazakhstan. [30] 44% of all businesses in Kazakhstan are female-owned and contribute to Kazakhstan's economic development and modernization. [30]

In order to support women and women's organizations with a view to sustainable and inclusive development, Kazakhstan held the OSCE-supported Second International Women's Forum on Future Energy: Women, Business, and the Global Economy in August 2017. The conference also focused on the importance of teaching women new technologies as a form of social entrepreneurship. [31]

Kenya

Kenya has also seen significant growth for women in business; encouraging entrepreneurship by women has been an important approach to poverty in Kenya. [32] [33] The Kenyan government, with support from NGOs, has created many programs providing access to financial resources, loans, and entrepreneurial education. Two examples are the Women's Enterprise Fund, enacted in 2007, and the creation of the Women's University of Science and Technology. [32] The Women's Enterprise Fund allows women greater access to small loans and financial services, such as bank accounts. [32] The Women's University of Science and Technology, which is the first all-women's university in Kenya, allows women to access higher education and entrepreneurial training. [32] These programs have empowered women to create small to medium-size enterprises, such as tailoring and bead-making. Kenyan society has also seen some shift in women's roles from caretakers to business owners, as called for in Vision 2030 - the Kenyan government's initiative to empower women, to achieve greater gender equality, economic growth, and to alleviate poverty. [32] [34]

The barriers women face to becoming entrepreneurs are exemplified through the perspectives of existing female entrepreneurs in Kenya. Mary Okello, the executive director of a cluster of private schools called Makini schools, discussed the difficulty of accessing loans. She explained that a major issue in Kenya was that only 1% of land is owned solely by women which makes it difficult for them to offer a bank collateral. Another obstacle for women in business is the limited foundational support from the Kenyan government. This is expressed through the experience of Esther Passaris, managing director of Adopt A Light. She recalled that when her organization partnered with the Council, there was no clear and evident framework for the next progressive steps and she felt the government could have provided a more effective way of protecting her business. [35]

Ghana

In Ghana, women such as Ayisha Fuseini have benefited from grants and sponsorships from NGOs and big business like Camfed and the MasterCard Foundation's Innovation Bursary Program (IBP), allowing them to become entrepreneurs. [36] [37]

Thailand

In Thailand the gender gap in education has reduced. In 2015, women were almost half of the 38.8 million in the labor force: 17.6 million or 45.8 percent were women. Gender equality is guaranteed by the Thai constitution. As a result, Thailand is one of the countries with the highest number of women in management positions. [38] Thailand has 45% more women in CEO positions than the ASEAN countries and China, and 36% of senior managers are women, higher than the G7 countries (21%). [39] Thailand is also one of the world's best-performing countries when it comes to women in senior business roles. The kingdom also has a high workforce participation rate for women: 60.1% in March 2019. Thailand consistently comes in the top five Asia-Pacific countries with the highest number of women in executive roles. [38]

Developed countries

United Kingdom

A surge in the number of women starting businesses in the United Kingdom has narrowed the "enterprise gap" between male and female company owners in the past decade. The proportion of working-age women going into business rose by 45% in the three-year period between 2013 and 2016, compared with 2003 to 2006, according to a report by Aston University in Birmingham. The share of working-age men going into business increased by 27% during the same period. [40]

United States

The number of female-owned businesses in the United States is growing at twice the rate of all firms. As of 2018, around 40% of US firms are majority-owned by women, much higher than most other developed economies. [41] Corporate support for women in business is also on the rise, with grants made available to help women in business. [42] [43]

Affirmative action has been credited with "bringing a generation of women into business ownership" in the United States, following the 1988 Women's Business Ownership Act and subsequent measures. [44]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MIT Sloan School of Management</span> Business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glass ceiling</span> Obstacles keeping a population from achievement

A glass ceiling is a metaphor usually applied to women, used to represent an invisible barrier that prevents a given demographic from rising beyond a certain level in a hierarchy. The metaphor was first used by feminists in reference to barriers in the careers of high-achieving women. It was coined by Marilyn Loden during a speech in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in Kazakhstan</span>

Women in Kazakhstan are women who live in or are from Kazakhstan. Their position in society has been and is influenced by a variety of factors, including local traditions and customs, decades of Soviet regime, rapid social and economic changes and instability after independence, and new emerging Western values.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's World Banking</span> Nonprofit organization

Women's World Banking is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to women's economic empowerment through financial inclusion.

Catalyst Inc. is a global nonprofit founded by feminist writer and advocate Felice Schwartz in 1962. Schwartz also served as Catalyst's president for 31 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Female entrepreneurs</span> Women who organize and manage an enterprise

Female entrepreneurs are women who organize and manage an enterprise, particularly a business. Female entrepreneurship has steadily increased in the United States during the 20th and 21st century, with number of female owned businesses increasing at a rate of 5% since 1997. This growth has led to the rise of wealthy self-made females such as Coco Chanel, Diane Hendricks, Meg Whitman, and Oprah Winfrey.

Peter Wilson is an Australian author, academic and management thinker. Wilson was made a member of the Order of Australia in 2005 for services to workplace relations and safety, and community service. Formerly, Wilson held group executive roles at ANZ Bank, Amcor Limited, and as CEO of Energy 21. He is a regular commentator in the Australian media on workplace issues, notably gender equality.

Gender representation on corporate boards of directors refers to the proportion of men and women who occupy board member positions. To measure gender diversity on corporate boards, studies often use the percentage of women holding corporate board seats and the percentage of companies with at least one woman on their board. Globally, men occupy more board seats than women. As of 2018, women held 20.8% of the board seats on Russell 1000 companies. Most percentages for gender representation on corporate boards refer only to public company boards. Private companies are not required to disclose information on their board of directors, so the data is less available.

Women in positions of power are women who hold an occupation that gives them great authority, influence, and/or responsibility in government or in businesses. Historically, power has been distributed unequally. Power and powerful positions have most often been associated with men as opposed to women. As gender equality increases, men still hold more power, including in politics and athletics.

Gender diversity is equitable representation of people of different genders. It most commonly refers to an equitable ratio of men and women, but also includes people of non-binary genders. Gender diversity on corporate boards has been widely discussed, and many ongoing initiatives study and promote gender diversity in fields traditionally dominated by men, including computing, engineering, medicine, and science. It is argued that some proposed explanations are without merit and are in fact dangerous, while others do play a part in a complex interaction of factors. It is suggested that the very nature of science may contribute to the removal of women from the 'pipeline'.

Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) is a Canadian non-profit organization that provides technology, entrepreneurship, and leadership training programs for young people around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli</span> Nigerian social entrepreneur

Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli is a Nigerian entrepreneur, an expert on African agriculture and nutrition, philanthropy, and social innovation. Since April 2, 2024, she has been serving as the CEO of the One Campaign.

Women's Entrepreneurship Day (WED) is a day celebrated annually on 15 November on which the work of women entrepreneurs is observed and discussed, held every day of each year. The inaugural event was held in New York City at the United Nations, with additional events being held simultaneously in several other countries. 144 nations overall recognized the first WED in 2014, which included the presentation of the Women's Entrepreneurship Day Pioneer Awards. The organization behind WED also has an ambassadorship and fellowship program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayisha Osori</span> Nigerian author and lawyer

Ayisha Osori is a Nigerian lawyer, author, international development consultant, journalist and politician known for her work on good governance, gender equality, women economic and political participation and ending violence against women in Nigeria. Her book Love Does Not Win Elections gives her insight into Nigerian politics. She is the former CEO of the Nigerian Women's Trust Fund. Olufunke Baruwa succeeded her.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellevate Network</span>

Ellevate Network is a Global Community of women committed to fostering and promoting gender equality in the workplace. The organization provides women and allies with a community to lean on and learn from through community, online and offline education, inspiration, and opportunity. Founded in 1997 to bring high-achieving women in finance together, the network now serves women across industries and around the world. Its CEO is Anusha Harid-Paoletti and Owner/Managing Partner is Allyson McDonald.

Women in Tech Africa (WiTA) is an organization with a focus on entrepreneurship expansion and multiplying the numbers of females in technology, especially in Africa. It was founded by Ethel D Cofie. Over the years, WiTA has strategically focused on enabling women to drive Africa's growth story and create an impact on personal life through technology. Currently, its target audience comprises aspiring female tech entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 40. Women in Tech Africa is the largest group on the continent with membership across 30 countries globally with physical chapters in Ghana, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Somaliland, Germany, Ireland, Kenya, Tanzania and Mauritius.

Ayisha Fuseini is a Ghanaian social entrepreneur. Fuseini is the founder and CEO of a company called Asheba Enterprise, registered in 2013 in Ghana, working with over 600 women in rural communities in Tamale; Northern region. She established a processing center that reduces the workload of the women she works with. Her enterprise also provides financial services to support women in the Shea business. Her company produces beauty products such as soap, body creams and other products using high quality shea butter. She is also a supplier of shea butter to The Body Shop chain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global Entrepreneurship Summit</span> International event for entrepreneurship

The Global Entrepreneurship Summit is an annual event organized by the federal government of the United States, in partnership with foreign government hosts. The summit originated from an event organized by the Obama Administration called the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship, which was held in April 2010 in Washington, D.C. It brought together entrepreneurs from the United States, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia to discuss the importance of social and economic entrepreneurship, establish entrepreneurship as an important area of policy focus, and strengthen mutually beneficial relationships between entrepreneurs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julie Sweet</span> American business executive

Julie Terese Sweet is an American business executive and attorney. She is chair and chief executive officer (CEO) of Accenture, a multinational professional services company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorraine Hariton</span>

Lorraine Hariton is the president and CEO of Catalyst, a New York City–based nonprofit organization committed to the advancement of women in the workplace.

References

  1. ↑ Ehreke, J. (14 November 2001). "Kommunikationstrainer Business English". 52 (11): 874. doi:10.1002/1521-4176(200111)52:11<874::AID-MACO874>3.0.CO;2-Q. ISSN   0947-5117.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ↑ Kitching, Beverley M.; Jackson, Pamela A. (May 2002). "Female Entrepreneurs in a Transitional Economy: Businesswomen in China". The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. 3 (2): 145–155. doi:10.5367/000000002101299132. ISSN   1465-7503. S2CID   150876556.
  3. ↑ bpc (2021-08-11). "How Women Are Shaping The Future Of Business". Reach Summit - Business Solutions. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  4. ↑ Silver, Morris (1995-02-14). Economic Structures of Antiquity. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN   978-0-313-29380-1.
  5. ↑ "The secret letters of history's first-known businesswomen". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  6. 1 2 "UN Women 2050 Report; Forecasting Women in Leadership Positions". WilanGlobal.org. 2024-06-28. Retrieved 2024-12-24.
  7. ↑ Moran, Tyler; Noland, Marcus (8 February 2016). "Study: Firms with More Women in the C-Suite Are More Profitable". Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  8. ↑ Belzer, Jason. "The Most Powerful Women In Sports". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  9. ↑ "What Do 65% of the Most Powerful Women Have In Common? Sports". Fortune. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  10. ↑ Zarya, Valentina (2017-09-22). "What Do 65% of the Most Powerful Women Have In Common? Sports". Fortune. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
  11. ↑ "Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The gender snapshot 2023". UN Women . 2023. Retrieved 2024-12-24.
  12. ↑ Hanna, Taylor; Meisel, Collin; Moyer, Jonathan; Azcona, Ginette; Bhatt, Antra; Valero, Sara Duerto (2023). Forecasting Women in Leadership Positions (PDF) (Report). UN Women. pp. 1–6. Retrieved 2024-12-24.
  13. ↑ "Women CEOs of the S&P 500 (List)". Catalyst. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  14. ↑ ecohen (2012-11-15). "Women in S&P 500 Companies". Catalyst. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
  15. ↑ Loop, Paula. "This Explains Why More Women Aren't Landing Board Seats". Fortune. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  16. ↑ "Women in Management (Quick Take)". Catalyst. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  17. ↑ "Women In Leadership Statistics [Fresh Research] • Gitnux". gitnux.org. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  18. ↑ "Directory". 50/50 Women on Boards. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
  19. ↑ "Reports". 50/50 Women on Boards. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
  20. ↑ "Companies Behaving Responsibly: Gender Diversity on Boards" (PDF). The Catalyst Research Centers. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 April 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  21. 1 2 Transearch International. "Scratching The Surface: Women In The Boardroom" . Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  22. ↑ Schroeder, Jackson (2018-11-30). "Women CEOs Are 45 Percent More Likely To Be Fired". The University Network. Retrieved 2018-12-10.
  23. 1 2 3 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (January 6, 2012). "GEM 2010 Womens Report". Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  24. ↑ Balch, Oliver (2015-04-27). "Women at the top is better for business and the environment". The Guardian . Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  25. ↑ Westman, Moa. "Development Solutions: How to fight climate change with gender equality". European Investment Bank . Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  26. ↑ Braun, Patrice (2010-09-28). "Going green: women entrepreneurs and the environment". International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship. 2 (3): 245–259. doi:10.1108/17566261011079233. hdl:1959.17/60229. ISSN   1756-6266.
  27. ↑ "Meet 41 Nigerian Women Entrepreneurs Putting the Country on the Global Business Map". Lionesses of Africa. 10 August 2016. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
  28. ↑ Halkias, Daphne; Nwajiuba, Chinedum; Harkiolakis, Nicholas; Caracatsanis, Sylva M. (2011-01-01). O. Okpara, John (ed.). "Challenges facing women entrepreneurs in Nigeria". Management Research Review. 34 (2): 221–235. doi:10.1108/01409171111102821. ISSN   2040-8269.
  29. ↑ Pyrkalo, Svitlana (25 November 2015). "EBRD launches Women in Business programme for Kazakhstan at Eurasian Women's Summit in Astana". European Bank for Reconstruction and Development . Retrieved 2015-11-30.
  30. 1 2 Shayakhmetova, Zhanna (14 February 2017). "Forum addresses national gender equality achievements and challenges". The Astana Times.
  31. ↑ "OSCE supports second international women's forum in Kazakhstan". osce.org .
  32. 1 2 3 4 5 Lock, Rachel; Lawton Smith, Helen (2016-03-14). "The impact of female entrepreneurship on economic growth in Kenya" (PDF). International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship. 8 (1): 90–96. doi:10.1108/ijge-11-2015-0040. ISSN   1756-6266.
  33. ↑ Brooks, Wyatt; Donovan, Kevin; Johnson, Terence R. (October 2018). "Mentors or Teachers? Microenterprise Training in Kenya". American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. 10 (4): 196–221. doi:10.1257/app.20170042. ISSN   1945-7782. S2CID   39603468.
  34. ↑ "Where we are : Eastern and Southern Africa: Kenya". UN Women | Africa. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
  35. ↑ Cutura, Jozefina. "Voices of Women Entrepreneurs in Kenya" (PDF). International Finance Corporation: 1–4.
  36. ↑ Kuenyehia, Elikem (30 April 2018). "Ayisha Fuseini: The 'Shea' strength of Asheba Enterprise" (PDF). Graphic Business. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  37. ↑ Caldwell, Georgina (2018-02-23). "The Body Shop shea butter supplier Ayisha Fuseini named Female Entrepreneur of the Year at the Invest in Africa Awards". Global Cosmetics News. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  38. 1 2 Wailerdsak (Yabushita), Natenapha (2020-08-31). "Women in Business and Management in Thailand Transforming High Participation Without EEO". Southeast Asian Economies. 37 (2): 163–180. doi:10.1355/ae37-2c. ISSN   2339-5095. S2CID   225335711.
  39. ↑ Activities (ACT/EMP), ILO-Bureau for Employers' (2015-01-12). Women in Business and Management: Gaining momentum. International Labour Office. ISBN   978-92-2-128873-2.
  40. ↑ "Surge in female entrepreneurs narrows UK gender gap" . Financial Times . 2017-07-04. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  41. ↑ Gonzalez, Gaudalupe. "New Research Finds Women Are Starting 1,821 New Businesses a Day, but There's a Catch". Inc. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  42. ↑ "Google.org Impact Challenge for Women and Girls" . Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  43. ↑ Carpenter, McKenzie (8 March 2021). "Google Announces $25 Million in Grants to Empower Women and Girls". Startup Savant. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  44. ↑ "Facts About Women In Business". Prowess 2.0. Retrieved June 16, 2012.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.