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ASK
OUR EXPERTS...
I recently read that women are topping the charts as
entrepreneurs. Can you clarify this...it’s inspiring information for your
readers.
Yes, women are definitely at the helm when it comes who’s who in the
world of Canadian entrepreneurs. According to a report released by the CIBC,
Women Entrepreneurs: Leading the Charge, there has been a 50 percent
increase in the number of self-employed women in Canada in the past 15
years. There are now 800,000 women business owners in Canada and this is
expected to increase to one million by 2010. When it comes down to women
verses men, the number of women-owned businesses is growing 60 percent
faster than those run by men. Now doesn’t that put “You’ve Come Along Way,
Baby” into a whole new and exciting perspective!
Within the CIBC report is also revealed that 70 percent of Canadian business
women are married and nearly a third of them have children under the age of
12. The current average age for Canadian business women is 41, however, the
fastest growing group of business women are those over 55. This sector, who
CIBC calls “seniorpreneurs”, are holding an annual growth rate of over 4
percent. That is double that of self-employed men in the same age group. The
CIBC calls these seniorpreneurs “a key driver of small business growth.”
According to the CIBC report, the “typical” Canadian business woman is
highly educated with nearly one in four self-employed women holding
university degrees as of 2004. This supports the fact that most of our
Canadian self-employed women are in a professional occupation. These include
natural and applied sciences, business and finance-related occupations, and
technical and professional occupations in the health sector.
Canadian women entrepreneurs are also enjoying above-average wages.
Currently, one in two self-employed women are in occupations with
above-average wages - up from only one-third in 1989.
Another interesting detail within the CIBC report is that most women who are
currently starting their own business reside in B.C., Alberta or Ontario. In
B.C, the number of self-employed women rose by an annual average of 6.1
percent since 1989. In Alberta, the numbers rose by an annual average of 4.8
percent. Ontario holds 40 percent of all women-owned, small businesses in
the country, but still only ranks third in the growth rate.
CIBC report Women Entrepreneurs: Leading the Charge is a must read. Visit
www.cibc.com/ca/pdf/women-entrepreneurs-en.pdf
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