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HOW WOMEN MEASURE UP
What status do women hold in American business today? The general consensus from conference participants was that women are sweeping into small, entrepreneurial businesses and are making strides in moving up the corporate ladder, but still face economic challenges.
The 6.4 million U.S. companies owned by women today employ more workers than all Fortune 500 companies, noted Dean A. Michael Spence, kicking off the first conference session. By the year 2000, the National Association of Women Business Owners estimates that 50 percent of all U.S. firms will be owned by women.
The Census Bureau reported that the number of businesses owned by women grew 57 percent between 1982 and 1987 -- four times faster than the number of male-owned firms. The Small Business Administration reported that in 1987, receipts from women-owned businesses totaled $278.1 billion. In 1975, one woman worker in four was self-employed, compared with one in three in 1990, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
One major challenge these women entrepreneurs face lies in finding financing. "Eighteen percent of all small businesses use credit cards for business capital, but for women that figure is 52 percent," Spence said.
Another speaker, Kate Kingsley of Korn/Ferry, cited a study by Korn/ Ferry International and the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA. The study of 400 senior women executives found that between 1980 and 1990, women holding the title of executive vice president rose from 4 percent to 9 percent, although men still outnumber women 3 to 1. Women senior vice presidents went from 13 to 23 percent.
Both women and men in the study reported working an average of 56 hours per week. Women's average salary was $187,000 in 1992, compared with $92,000 ten years earlier, but still lagged behind their male counterparts' average salary.
In the 1992 study, 70 percent of women executives were married, compared with 49 percent a decade earlier. The study found one other major difference. Among the women respondents, 77 percent said they want to retire before age 65, but only 30 percent of the male executives had the same goal.
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