Pink is New Color of Economic Power
IMPACT Summit Offers Women Business Owners Tools To Grow
Women have really stepped into their economic power this summer. “Barbie” will be in the record books as the first ever billion dollar box office smash hit, as will Taylor Swift’s “Eras” Tour. That is billion with a B, as in Beyonce, whose summer “Renaissance Tour” was not far behind, by the way.
Women and girls flexed their economic might, buying tickets, planning trips and buying all the pink things — so much so that even the Wall Street Journal took note, with a recent headline “Women Own This Summer. The Economy Proves It.”
At weVENTURE Women’s Business Center, we have experienced firsthand the dramatic shift taking place in women’s economic empowerment.
For the last 30 years, women of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds have been starting new businesses at a far more accelerated rate than their male colleagues. Women-owned businesses grew nearly three times as fast (16%) as the number of U.S. businesses overall (6%) between 1992-1997, a trend which continued into the 2000s.
In 2018-2019, women started an average of 1,817 new businesses a day! In Florida, the number of women-owned businesses increased almost double the rate of male owned firms year-over-year 2021-2022. (Source: U.S. Census and National Women’s Business Council)
Despite all these gains in business ownership, a few sticking points are worth mentioning. First, 62% of c-suite executives are still white men and the percentage of women in the c-suite has only increased marginally, according to LeanIn Mckinsey’s 2022 Women in the Workplace Annual Report).
Further, after narrowing dramatically in the 1970s and 1980s, the gender pay gap has remained nearly stagnant since the ‘90s at about 82%. Meaning women at all levels make about $0.82 for every $1 a man makes. It is no wonder so many women are jumping ship to entrepreneurship.
But a few issues remain — 90% of all women-owned businesses are solopreneurs, meaning they have no employees other than the owner. While many women find financial stability and career satisfaction being their own boss, for those who do wish to grow, access to capital remains a major sticking point. Women-owned businesses still receive about 14% less than their male counterparts in business loans. (Source: Fundera)
So while women have most definitely made significant economic gains over the years and flexed their prowess this summer, we still have a long way to go.
That is why weVENTURE Women’s Business Center will again host the IMPACT Summit on Oct. 6 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Cocoa Beach. This half-day business leadership conference is designed to provide professional women and female entrepreneurs the hands-on training they need to step into leadership roles and better manage their careers and businesses.
In addition to informative breakout sessions, panel discussions and a keynote address by Florida’s first female Secretary of Commerce, Laura DiBella, guests will have the chance to hear pitches from three local women-owned businesses who are competing for the first ever IMPACT Grant.
While weVENTURE WBC can’t close the gender pay gap overnight, and we can’t single-handedly change lending practices, we can provide local women the resources they need to get ahead.
And since we all bought a good deal of pink this summer, we invite women to wear pink to the IMPACT Summit and anywhere they feel like it — because pink is the new color of economic power!
By the Numbers
- 82%: The gender pay gap, meaning women at all levels make about $0.82 for every $1 a man makes.
- 90% of all women-owned businesses are solopreneurs, meaning they have no employees other than the owner.
- In Florida, the number of women-owned businesses increased almost double the rate of male owned firms year-over-year 2021-2022.
Learn More
For more information, or to register for the IMPACT Summit, visit:
weventure.fit.edu/events/impact-summit/
Learn more about the grant: weventure.fit.edu/programs-services/impact-grant/
Meet Our Thought Leader
Kathryn Rudloff is executive director of weVENTURE Women’s Business Center in the Bisk College of Business at Florida Tech. Funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration, weVENTURE WBC is dedicated to igniting the power of women entrepreneurs. To take advantage of their complementary business coaching, or low-and no-cost business trainings, call 321-674-7007 or visit weventure.fit.edu.
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