---
title: "Number of Women in Franchising Has Grown Each Year Since 2016"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/da8029a0-c27d-4eb9-a261-da098e22ef29
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/number-of-women-in-franchising-has-grown-each-year-since-2016-2718248
category: "Franchisors"
industry: "Franchise Industry"
segment: "Franchisors"
published: 2022-03-18T15:10:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:11:18.924Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/c5d8babe162e767e553426b455ba98a08293.jpg
---

# Number of Women in Franchising Has Grown Each Year Since 2016

**TL;DR:** The number of women-owned businesses has grown by 3,150% since 1972, with women now accounting for about one-third of small business owners and franchisees. The number of women becoming franchisees has risen steadily for the last five years.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2022-03-18. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/number-of-women-in-franchising-has-grown-each-year-since-2016-2718248).*

## Story

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.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Franchise Industry (sector)
- franchise ownership (topic)
- women in franchising (topic)
- small business ownership (topic)
- U.S. Census (regulator)
- Guidant Financial (company)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/number-of-women-in-franchising-has-grown-each-year-since-2016-2718248). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/da8029a0-c27d-4eb9-a261-da098e22ef29).