Blackwell Reference Online

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Women's entrepreneurship is a growing phenomenon around the world. Despite the legal and social restrictions that limited their ownership of property and active participation in the marketplace, women have a long history of contributions to the household economy, often through small businesses that were sometimes unrecorded in numbers and impact ( Wertheimer, 1977 ). Post‐World War II, legislative enactments (e.g., Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974, etc.) and societal changes in the US catalyzed a dramatic increase in women's venture creation. Today, women entrepreneurs are a potent economic force as employers, customers, suppliers, and competitors in the world marketplace. The US government defines a woman‐owned business as one that is at least 51 percent owned by a woman, who is also involved in the day‐to‐day operation of the business. Approximately 5.4 million or 28 percent of all US businesses meet this definition. In addition, women jointly own (50/50) an additional 3.6 million (18 percent) of businesses with men. By contrast, men own 11.4 million businesses (54 percent) ( US Census Bureau, 2001 ). This reflects a rapid increase from the reported 1.5 million women‐owned businesses in 1976. During this period, revenues and number of employees in women‐owned businesses also grew significantly. Employment by women‐owned businesses rose 28 percent between 1992 and 1997, compared ... log in or subscribe to read full text