The Face of Canadian Business Women
Susan Ward
Your Guide to Small Business: Canada

Part 1: The Ranks of Canadian Women in Business are Growing

This is a great time to be a Canadian woman in business. More Canadian women are self-employed than ever before. According to Shattering the Glass Box?, a report on Women Entrepreneurs and the Knowledge-Based Economy from Industry Canada, between 1991 and 1996 the number of self-employed women grew 44.3 percent (as opposed to a 20.0 percent increase of self-employed men).
And this growth occurred in all provinces across Canada. In fact, growth in the number of Canadian unincorporated businesses owned by women has surpassed the U.S. since 1989. According to Bennett Gold, Chartered Accountants, in 1999 the number of women-owned businesses was growing at a rate twice the national average for all businesses, and women-owned businesses were creating employment at four times the average rate for all businesses.
And women-owned businesses are just as successful as any other business; although generally younger than the average Canadian business, their survival rates are identical. What are these Canadian women in business like? The face of the typical Canadian business woman is changing. Today's Canadian woman in business:

• s more likely to be highly educated. The incidence of university education among business women increased 70.0 percent from 1991 to 1996 (Shattering the Glass Box?).
• She's likely to be young. The highest growth in female entrepreneurship has been in women under 30. The number of self-employed women under 30 rose 30 percent between 1991 and 1996, compared to a 4 percent increase of self-employed young men.
• She's probably married, as self-employed women are more likely to be married than Canadian women in general (77 percent as opposed to 58 percent of the general population).
• She may well be an immigrant. The number of immigrant business women increased by 42.6 percent from 1991 to 1996.
• She's more likely to work at home than her male counterpart (up 40.9 percent between 1991 and 1996 for all women, while the percentage of men working at home during the same period declined by 1.0 percent). This is especially true of businesses that provide business services, one of the fastest-growing sectors of entrepreneurial activity; over half of all women who run this type of business operate their business from their home. Business women who have children are even more likely to run a home-based business.

Part 2: Why Aren't Business Women Doing as Well as Business Men?

This is a great time to be a Canadian woman in business. More Canadian women are self-employed than ever before. According to Shattering the Glass Box?, a report on Women Entrepreneurs and the Knowledge-Based Economy from Industry Canada, between 1991 and 1996 the number of self-employed women grew 44.3 percent (as opposed to a 20.0 percent increase of self-employed men).
Women entrepreneurs are moving en masse into the knowledge-based economy. Business women are moving into industries such as architecture, law, engineering, manufacturing, accounting, and construction, where female participation is traditionally low, in ever increasing numbers. More women than ever are health practitioners, or working as doctors, dentists, or optometrists, for example.
Generally, within industry groups, business women are shifting into those areas that require higher education. For instance, in 1996, the number of women entrepreneurs providing services to agriculture, rather than being directly involved in agriculture, increased 95.6 percent, while the number of women entrepreneurs providing business consulting, rather than accounting and bookkeeping services, rose 151.3 percent. The number of women incorporating their businesses is also growing, especially in the business service areas of advertising, computer services, and business consulting. Women entrepreneurs are being more successful in a more diverse range of industries than ever before. Now that's something to celebrate! On the negative side, women entrepreneurs on average still earn less than self-employed men. In 1995, the average income of a woman in business was $25,552, while the average income of a man in business was $40,043 (Shattering the Glass Box, Industry Canada). Part of this difference is accounted for by the fact that women in business generally work fewer hours than men; in 1997, self-employed women worked one third fewer hours per week than self-employed men. I would speculate that part of the reason for this discrepancy is that women are still the primary child care providers. Industry Canada's report Shattering the Glass Box? concludes that while the knowledge-based economy provides great opportunities for women entrepreneurs, it also provides diverse challenges. Entrepreneurs (of either gender) need to strive continually to improve their products or services, and need to be poised to take advantage of new knowledge and new technologies. Staying informed, acquiring funding for growth, finding mentors, and expanding into new markets are four areas the report identifies as being especially challenging for women in business.

Part 3: Financing & Technology Related Resources for Women In Business

Fortunately, there is a wealth of resources available to help Canadian women entrepreneurs deal with these challenges, and many of these resources are now available online. The Internet is an astonishing business tool, and more women than ever are taking advantage of its possibilities to find information, business tools, and reach out to other business women. The government of Canada has long been a stellar supporter of women in business. My article, Small Business Loans in Canada: For Women Only presents some of the small business loans and support programs that are designed to help women meet the challenge of financing their businesses. You'll find more financial information in the Small Business Financing section of this site, including information on small business grants that eligible women may apply for. Women who are considering expanding their markets will be impressed with DFAIT's Businesswomen in Trade web site for women exporters. It's not only easy to use, but provides a wealth of practical information on doing business at home and abroad.As for networking, business women are reaching out to one another over the net as never before, at national, provincial and local levels. WiredWoman.com is a Canadian site devoted to encouraging the growth and development of women in IT (Information Technology). Wired Woman provides networking opportunities, career resources, role-modeling and mentoring for its members, among other services, and has chapters in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Toronto. All women are welcome to join. Canadian Women in Communications is a national, bilingual, not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting the advancement of women in the communications field. It offers support services such as mentoring, a job bank, networking, education, and information. HighTech Women is a British site dedicated to facilitating the advancement of women in technology and technology related fields. It offers mentoring, networking, encouragement and information.

Part 4: Other Resources for Women Entrepreneurs

Not high tech? Don't despair. There are plenty of other Canadian organizations and groups offering support specifically geared to women entrepreneurs. For instance, the Canadian Women's Business Network is a useful compendium of Canadian resources with many links and articles for women in business. If you run a well-established business, you may wish to join Women Entrepreneurs of Canada, a national, non-profit organization that offers "seasoned" women entrepreneurs opportunities to expand nationally and internationally by meeting with other successful businesswomen. Currently WEC has chapters in Vancouver and Toronto. And this growth occurred in all provinces across Canada. In fact, growth in the number of Canadian unincorporated businesses owned by women has surpassed the U.S. since 1989. According to Bennett Gold, Chartered Accountants, in 1999 the number of women-owned businesses was growing at a rate twice the national average for all businesses, and women-owned businesses were creating employment at four times the average rate for all businesses. And women-owned businesses are just as successful as any other business; although generally younger than the average Canadian business, their survival rates are identical. Membership in the Canadian Association of Women Executives and Entrepreneurs (CAWEE) is open to full-time business owners who've operated for at least two years, and to senior managers and executives. Founded in 1976, this Toronto-based, not-for-profit organization provides a forum for businesswomen to develop and expand their businesses and professions, while increasing the overall visibility of women in executive, professional and entrepreneurial roles. Not all of the national organizations for business women have viable web presences. For instance, the Foundation of Canadian Women Entrepreneurs doesn't yet have a web site of its own, but is still a worthy cause. This national registered charity is dedicated solely to the promotion, support, education and advancement of Canadian women entrepreneurs across the country. For more information, e-mail Andrina Lever at andrina@attglobal.net. Even the big banks have recognized the contribution that women entrepreneurs have made and are continuing to make to the Canadian economy. The Royal Bank has done a particularly outstanding job of providing online resources for business women. Their Royal Bank Women Entrepreneurs site provides strategies, contacts, and resources that are worth a look. I find their "Definitive Guide" booklets on topics such as Exporting, Small Business Financing, and Electronic Cash Management particularly useful; you can order them for free or access many of them online. There are now more than 800,000 business women, and the ranks of women entrepreneurs are steadily increasing. "Women business owners are succeeding because they are endowed with the drive, the confidence and the determination that mark true entrepreneurs," says François Beaudoin, BDC President and CEO in Women Entrepreneurs in Canada: Geared Toward Success). And as the number of women in business grows, so too do the number of women in business groups and associations throughout Canada, offering their members support ranging from networking opportunities through financing. You can find some of the best of these in my Resources for Women Entrepreneurs library. Do let me know if you know of an organization or Web site that provides support for Canadian women in business that I've missed.

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