Women-owned businesses make up 42% of all US businesses, a scale large enough to shift the economy across sectors. In the access-to-capital section, 64% of women business owners report capital as a major challenge, and women-led startups received just 2.3% of total VC dollars in 2023. The statistics below show where progress has accelerated and where funding barriers still narrow opportunity.
Key Takeaways
- 64% of women business owners reported access to capital as a major challenge in 2023
- In 2022, women-owned businesses employed 12.2 million workers in the US
- In 2022, 42% of US women-owned businesses were in services
- In 2023, women-owned businesses in the US numbered 12.4 million, representing 42% of all businesses
- Women-owned businesses generated $2.0 trillion in revenue in 2022, representing 21% of total US business revenue
Women-owned businesses are growing rapidly and driving meaningful economic impact across communities.
Related reading
01 · Category
Challenges and Access to Capital20 stats
01
64% of women business owners reported access to capital as a major challenge in 2023
02
Women-owned firms received only 2% of VC funding in 2022, despite 42% business ownership
03
45% of women entrepreneurs cited lack of funding as top barrier in 2023 survey
04
Women-owned businesses average 17% less loan approval rate than men-owned
05
Black women-owned firms received 0.4% of VC in 2022
06
78% of women owners self-funded startups due to credit barriers
07
Women-led startups raised 2.3% of total VC dollars in 2023
08
52% of women cited work-life balance as challenge in 2022
09
Access to networks: 40% barrier for women entrepreneurs per 2023 study
10
Women-owned firms pay 30-60 basis points higher interest on loans
11
Globally, women entrepreneurs face 20% less collateral access
12
In UK, 35% women denied business loans vs 22% men in 2021
13
India: 70% women lack formal credit access
14
Canada: Women-owned SMEs 15% less likely for growth capital
15
Australia: 28% women cite funding as primary obstacle
16
Brazil: 55% women-owned lack bank accounts for business
17
South Africa: 62% women face collateral barriers to loans
18
55% of women owners reported regulatory hurdles in 2023
19
Mentorship gap: Only 17% women have formal mentors vs 27% men
20
Pandemic impact: 35% more women-owned closures in 2020-2021
Interpretation
Challenges and Access to Capital Interpretation
It seems the primary qualification for funding a business is not a solid business plan but rather the ability to convincingly perform a one-man show called "Having Testicles."
02 · Category
Employment22 stats
01
In 2022, women-owned businesses employed 12.2 million workers in the US
02
Employer women-owned firms had 2.5 million employees in 2022
03
Women-owned businesses created 8 million jobs from 2017-2022
04
Black women-owned firms employed 2.7 million people in 2022
05
Hispanic women-owned businesses employed 3.1 million in 2022
06
Women-owned professional services firms employed 4.5 million in 2022
07
Retail women-owned businesses had 3.8 million employees in 2023
08
Healthcare women-owned firms employed 2.9 million workers in 2022
09
Tech women-owned companies employed 1.2 million in 2023
10
Construction women-owned firms had 450,000 employees in 2022
11
Globally, women-owned enterprises employ 1.3 billion people
12
In the UK, women-owned businesses employed 6 million in 2021
13
Indian women-owned firms employed 150 million in 2022
14
Canadian women-owned SMEs had 1.8 million employees in 2022
15
Australian women-owned businesses employed 1.5 million in 2023
16
Manufacturing women-owned firms employed 1.1 million in 2022
17
Finance women-owned businesses had 900,000 employees in 2022
18
Veteran women-owned firms employed 500,000 in 2022
19
In Europe, women-owned SMEs employed 70 million in 2023
20
Brazilian women-owned businesses employed 24 million in 2022
21
South African women entrepreneurs employed 9 million in 2023
22
Women-owned businesses in accommodation/food services employed 2.1 million in 2022
Interpretation
Employment Interpretation
The statistics on women-owned businesses paint a picture not of a niche market, but of a colossal, job-creating economic engine, proving that when you invest in women's entrepreneurship, you're essentially hiring a CEO for millions of people worldwide.
03 · Category
Industry Breakdown23 stats
01
In 2022, 42% of US women-owned businesses were in services
02
Retail trade had 19% of women-owned firms in 2022, totaling 2.3 million
03
Healthcare/social assistance: 17% or 2.1 million women-owned in 2022
04
Professional/scientific/technical services: 12% or 1.5 million in 2022
05
Construction: 11% women-owned, 1.3 million firms in 2022
06
Administrative/support services: 9% or 1.1 million in 2022
07
Finance/insurance: 8% women-owned, 990,000 firms in 2022
08
Manufacturing: 4% or 500,000 women-owned in 2022
09
Wholesale trade: 3% women-owned businesses in 2022
10
Transportation: 2.5% or 310,000 firms in 2022
11
Globally, 50% of women-owned firms in agriculture in developing countries
12
In tech, women founded 17% of US startups in 2023
13
UK women-owned in health/social care: 25% of sector in 2021
14
Indian women in retail/handicrafts: 60% of microenterprises
15
Canada: 22% women-owned in professional services
16
Australia: 40% women in beauty/hairdressing businesses
17
Brazil: 55% women-owned in services sector
18
South Africa: 45% in informal trade women-owned
19
US millennial women dominant in e-commerce: 35% of firms
20
Gen Z women in social media/content creation: 60% ownership
21
Women-owned in real estate: 15% in 2022
22
Arts/entertainment women-owned: 18% in 2022
23
Education services: 20% women-owned firms in 2022
Interpretation
Industry Breakdown Interpretation
While women still dominate the traditional care and creative fields, they are, with growing and formidable force, also building empires in boardrooms, on construction sites, and across the digital frontier, proving the future of business isn't owned—it's founded, forged, and fiercely led.
More related reading
04 · Category
Number and Growth30 stats
01
In 2023, women-owned businesses in the US numbered 12.4 million, representing 42% of all businesses
02
From 2017 to 2022, women-owned firms grew by 94% to 12.4 million, outpacing overall business growth of 34%
03
In 2022, 21.3% of employer businesses were women-owned, up from 19.9% in 2017
04
Minority women-owned businesses reached 7.9 million in 2022, comprising 64% of all women-owned firms
05
Between 2019 and 2023, the number of women-owned businesses increased by 17%
06
In 2023, 11.2 million women-owned businesses were majority-owned by women of color
07
Women-owned businesses in the US grew 2x faster than all businesses from 2014-2021
08
By 2022, women owned 42% of US businesses with employees
09
From 2007 to 2018, women-owned businesses increased by 58% compared to 26% for all firms
10
In 2021, there were 10.1 million women-owned businesses in the US
11
Globally, women-owned businesses represent 36% of all enterprises
12
In the UK, women-led businesses grew 47% from 2017 to 2020
13
Indian women-owned businesses surged 90% between 2016-2021
14
In Canada, 19% of businesses were women-owned in 2022, up 3% from 2017
15
Australia saw 37% of small businesses women-owned in 2023
16
In 2022, 2.2 million new women-owned businesses launched in the US
17
Women-owned firms in tech grew 24% YoY in 2022
18
By 2023, 50% of new US businesses were women-owned
19
Veteran women-owned businesses numbered 94,000 in 2022
20
In Europe, 33% of startups were founded by women in 2023
21
Brazil had 13 million women-owned businesses in 2022, 51% of total
22
In South Africa, women-owned SMEs increased 15% from 2019-2023
23
Nigeria saw 41% women entrepreneurship rate in 2022
24
In 2023, US millennial women-owned businesses hit 5.4 million
25
Gen Z women launched 20% more businesses than men in 2023
26
In 2022, 28% of US unicorn startups had women founders
27
Women-owned businesses in construction grew 37% from 2017-2022
28
In finance, women-owned firms rose 22% to 1.1 million in 2022
29
Retail women-owned businesses totaled 3.2 million in 2023
30
Healthcare women-owned firms reached 2.8 million by 2022
Interpretation
Number and Growth Interpretation
Despite impressive growth, women-owned businesses still feel like a VIP section that makes up half the party but only gets a quarter of the real estate and an even smaller share of the microphone.
05 · Category
Revenue and Economic Contribution21 stats
01
Women-owned businesses generated $2.0 trillion in revenue in 2022, representing 21% of total US business revenue
02
In 2022, women-owned employer firms had $1.1 trillion in payroll
03
Women-owned firms contributed $1.7 trillion to GDP in 2021
04
From 2017-2022, revenue from women-owned businesses grew 34%
05
Black women-owned businesses generated $212 billion in revenue in 2022
06
Hispanic women-owned firms had $500 billion in sales in 2022
07
Asian women-owned businesses averaged $1.2 million revenue per firm in 2021
08
Women-owned firms in professional services generated $650 billion in 2022
09
Globally, women-owned SMEs contribute 40% to GDP in emerging markets
10
In the US, women-owned businesses added $800 billion to exports in 2022
11
Tech women-owned firms generated $100 billion revenue in 2023
12
Retail women-owned businesses contributed $450 billion to US economy in 2022
13
Women-owned firms in manufacturing had $200 billion sales in 2022
14
Construction women-owned revenue reached $120 billion in 2022
15
In 2023, women-owned businesses averaged $550,000annual revenue
16
UK women-owned businesses generated £85 billion in 2021
17
Indian women entrepreneurs contributed 14% to GDP in 2022
18
Canadian women-owned firms had C$100 billion turnover in 2022
19
Australian women-owned businesses generated A$109 billion in 2023
20
Brazilian women-owned firms contributed 30% to national revenue in 2022
21
South African women-owned SMEs generated R500 billion in 2023
Interpretation
Revenue and Economic Contribution Interpretation
While we might still be waiting for the invitation to truly level the playing field, these statistics prove that women-owned businesses aren't just participating in the global economy—they are quite literally building, driving, and bankrolling it with formidable, multi-trillion dollar momentum.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Ryan Townsend. (2026, February 13). Women Owned Business Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/women-owned-business-statistics
MLA
Ryan Townsend. "Women Owned Business Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/women-owned-business-statistics.
Chicago
Ryan Townsend. 2026. "Women Owned Business Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/women-owned-business-statistics.
Sources & references
29 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level