Survey Finds Pennsylvania Lags In Women-Owned Businesses

Date: May 21, 2015

State Has Same Ranking As Previous Year For Female-Headed Companies

A new American Express Open survey examining data from 1997 to the present showed that Pennsylvania is currently seventh in the US in terms of women-owned businesses, with 315,600 firms across the state. However, this is the second year in a row the state has this ranking, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes. Additionally, the data indicate the state “was only 28th highest in growth of new women-owned firms” over 18 years, and ranked “38th based on revenue growth at those businesses over the same time period.”

Data for the survey came from the US Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners, which happens every five years. Across the US, there are just over 9.4 million women-owned businesses generating almost $1.5 trillion in sales. These businesses employ almost 8 million people, the AMEX Open survey found. This data comes at a time when Federal government reports showed the US “government fell short of its 5 percent goal for contracts for women-owned companies in the 2013 fiscal year,” the AP notes.

What This Means For Small Businesses

Entrepreneurs need to feel they have the right tools to be successful. Surveys like the latest from AMEX Open suggest that women looking to start small businesses in Pennsylvania face hurdles due to patchwork regulations and a lack of pro-business resources. The state has a long way to go to foster a more positive environment for small business growth.

Additional Reading

NFIB has previously provided details on women-owned business growth across the US.

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