Changes

Over the past century, the United States witnessed two concurrent social trends, both of which had a significant impact on the country's economic growth: first, women have gone in large-scale numbers into the official labor force, and second, the country as a whole but particularly women are achieving a higher degree of education than in years past. However, economists predict that economic growth from these two trends is unlikely to be repeated to the same magnitude; room for growth is smaller than it was before and these trends have slowed from their spikes in the mid to late 1900's. With this, everyone is looking for the 21st Century economy-boosting equivalent to women entering the labor force and higher educational attainment. Encouraging women to enter into fields of entrepreneurship, particularly high-growth entrepreneurship, might be the silver bullet economists seek.

According to data from a 2015 Pew Research Center survey, 43% of Americans believe that the U.S. is not prepared to hire women for top-tier executive positions. A relatively smaller, but still significant, number of Americans (23%) believe that women don’t have the time to hold an executive position, given their “family responsibilities”. [http://www.citylab.com/work/2015/09/where-can-female-entrepreneurs-find-the-most-success/406987/]

*The number of businesses owned by African American women grew 322% since 1997, making black females the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs in the U.S.

*“We attribute the growth in women-owned firms to the lack of fair pay, fair promotion, and family-friendly policies found in corporate America,” she said. “Women of color, when you look at the statistics, are impacted more significantly by all of the negative factors that women face. It’s not surprising that they have chosen to invest in themselves.”