Number of Women in Franchising Has Grown Each Year Since 2016

For Women’s History Month, Franchise500’s Jeff Cheatham offered a look at the impressive strides females have made in the franchising industry, which indicates a promising future for women in the industry.

First, Cheatham looked at how much the rate of women-owned businesses has grown in the last half-century. The U.S. Census Bureau started keeping records of female entrepreneurs in 1972, when just 400,000 companies were women-owned. Today’s statistics show over 13 million businesses owned by women, a staggering 3,150% increase. Women now account for about one-third of small business owners and franchisees, Guidant Financial reports.

When it comes to interest in franchise ownership, women are currently outnumbering men in exploring possible investments, Franchise Insights reports. And that trend shows no sign of slowing; the number of women becoming franchisees has risen steadily for the last five years.

About 33% of all female business owners and franchisees have been running their operations for more than a decade, the Guidant Financial data shows.