RSF Takes Two Approaches To Help Women Fund Their Businesses

In this column, I most often write about million-dollar-plus women-owned businesses. Despite the tremendous growth in the number of these businesses, women’s companies are about one third as likely to pass the million-dollar mark than their male counterparts. Over the past five years, the rate of growth in the number of women-owned million-dollar firms was 20% compared to 9% for all businesses, according to American Express 2019 State of Women-Owned Businesses.*

Working with women entrepreneurs, I see the impact of the intersection of gender and race on growing a business. African Americans/Blacks in the United States represent 42% of new women-owned businesses, three times their share of the female population (14%). Latinas/Hispanics in the United States represent 31% of new women-owned businesses, nearly double their share of the female population (17%). The 80% revenue gap between businesses owned by women and those owned by white men is far greater than the 20% pay gap. And the revenue gap is more significant for African American/Black and Latinas/Hispanic women business owners — 93% and 97%, respectively.

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