As technology disrupts entire industries in New York City, another disruption is taking place right alongside—a flood of women entrepreneurs in virtually every industry in the city. Women founders of all ages, races and ethnicities are creating jobs, bolstering the city’s economy, strengthening families and neighborhoods, and providing new and creative solutions to the problems of modern life. Fueled by advances in technology, lowered barriers to entry and recession era lay-offs, women throughout the city—from stay-at-home moms to fashion designers and finance pros—are starting and growing new businesses at a remarkable clip.
In the decade from 2002 to 2012, the most recent year for which rigorous data is available, the number of women-owned businesses grew by a whopping 65 percent or 45 new businesses every day, adding more than 56,000 jobs and $3 billion in payroll to the city’s economy. As of 2012, there were 413,899 women-owned firms in New York City, compared to 305,198 five years earlier. Today, women-owned businesses make up more than 40 percent of private companies in the city, up from 33 percent five years ago and 32 percent a decade ago.
Two-thirds of the recent growth in women-owned businesses took place in the five years between 2007 and 2012, and the growth from 2002 to 2012 outpaced the 33 percent increase in businesses in the city overall as well as the 44 percent growth in the number of women-owned businesses statewide. Male-owned firms in the city grew just 8 percent between 2007 and 2012.
Read Complete Article