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Why now? (From the desk of USWCC CEO - Margot Dorfman)

I was reading the latest, greatest media article on women business owners with a statement like this, "Businesses owned by women are the fastest growing businesses in the United States, according to the Center for Women's Business Research," and I thought to myself….really? 

So, I looked up the real data. Here is what I found - women are STARTING businesses at the fastest rate. However, they are not growing their revenues at a commensurate rate. As a matter of fact, even though the number of (majority-owned) women-owned firms grew 42.3% between 1997 and 2006, their combined annual sales grew ONLY 4.4%. Consequently, the average annual sales for a women-owned firm has DROPPED 36%.

So, what is the more important headline? "Even though millions of women are starting businesses, they aren't growing their revenues." Trust me, while I know some women business owners who are doing very, very well, these statistics do not lie. I hear from numerous women across the U.S. about their challenges to growing their businesses.

And, here is an even more telling statistic: Even though women own 28.2% of all non-farm firms in the U.S., their total portion of all sales continues to hover around 4.2%. A recent report issued by the U.S. Small Business Administration using the 2002 Economic Census shows that a high majority of women-owned firms are generating very small sales revenues. Additionally, these percentages have not changed significantly since 1997. Nearly 50% of all women-owned firms had sales of less than $10,000 annually in 1997 and in 2002. Nearly 80% had sales of less than $50,000 annually in 1997 and 2002.

So, I decided to look deeper into current economic data on women. What I found was very, very disturbing:

• Retirement: "Millions Of U.S. Women May Run Out Of Retirement Savings." Society of Actuaries (September 2006)
   
• Poverty: "A woman in the United States is 45 percent more likely to be poor than a man." Legal Momentum (September 2006)
   
• Executive Leadership: "Projected trend indicates it could take 40 years for women to achieve parity with men in corporate officer ranks." Catalyst (July 2006)
   
• Education: "Women are being filtered out of high-level science, math, and engineering jobs in the United States." The Boston Globe (September 2006)
   
• Business Growth: Even though the number of (majority-owned) women-owned firms grew 42.3% between 1997 and 2006, their combined annual sales grew only 4.4%. Center for Women's Business Research (September 2006)
   
• Community Leadership: Women hold 81, or 15.1%, of the 535 seats in the 109th US Congress. www.house.gov

The above statistics provide a bleak snapshot of our financial and leadership condition. These realities are particular disappointing when one considers the decades of effort by women to advance while balancing their family commitments and the assistance provided for women's groups and supporters.

A funny think happened on the way to progress. . .

All women understand the significance of their roles as caregivers. As mothers – and as daughters – we hold a special place in our society. And, for many years, we have understood that this role may be at the root of much economic discrimination. We are penalized for dropping in and out of the workforce. We struggle with the need for flextime during the workweek to manage family needs. And, we may be passed over for promotions due to our family commitments. 

But now we face new obstacles – corporate and political marketing, corporate market and industry control, political party control, and the politics of division. If we are to advance, we must address each of these new obstacles.

• Corporations market to women relentlessly. We control the purse strings of the household. But, they can't seem to promote us to executive leadership, corporate boards, or even line positions.
   
• Media publish happy women stories so they can sell ads to corporations seeking to reach women.
   
• Politicians tell us they feel our pain – then ignore us – handing out earmarks and no-bid contracts to large corporations and ignoring our needs for family friendly work environments and solutions to out of control health care costs.
   
• Corporations control our business' access to markets through government lobbying, certification programs, and "diversity" marketing that covers up their real lack of diversity.
   
• Political parties woo us while not supporting our issues or (often) our candidates.
   
• Political operatives work to divide women on issues thereby decreasing our ability to come together in unity to advance our cause.
   
• Many associations focus more on corporate sponsorships than progress. When member's issues and opportunities are not advancing, it may be difficult for women's groups to "make the case" while holding their hand out for a corporate sponsorship.

Educated – Focused – Relentless – Unified

If we are to generate real progress for women, we must be educated, focused, relentless and unified. That is what the USWCC National Congress on the Economic Advancement of Women is all about. Simply put, each year we will measure and report on progress or failure (educate), focus strategies that will create change, relentlessly advance these strategies, and work to unify the efforts of organizations and individuals towards common goals.

Join the Revolution: Step up now!

If you believe there is work to be done to bring women greater economic opportunities and retirement security, then please join the revolution now.

 
Margot Dorfman, CEO
U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce