Women Entrepreneurs Are Creating Jobs: An Interactive Timeline

The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression didn’t develop overnight, and it won’t be solved overnight. But while we have a long way to go, over the past 27 months, American companies have added more than 4.3 million jobs. Behind that number are countless small businesses – entrepreneurs with bold ideas and a willingness to dream big. 

President Obama knows that small business owners are the engines of our economy. That’s why he has signed 18 new small business tax cuts into law. As our country continues to recover from the worst recession since the Great Depression, we must continue to support and celebrate America’s job creators. 

That’s why StartUp America, the Council on Women and Girls and the White House Business Council have put together an interactive tool to introduce you to some of the women entrepreneurs who are helping our country succeed. Some of these small business owners are on the cutting edge of social media, advanced manufacturing and biotechnology. Others have opened traditional “main street” establishments, such as stores and restaurants. All of them have created jobs, and made their communities better places to work and live. 

As their stories make clear, women small business owners are an essential part of our economy. Forty years ago, women owned just 5 percent of all small businesses. Today, women own 30 percent, a total of 7.8 million companies generating $1.2 trillion a year in sales.  

America’s entrepreneurs are at the heart of our country’s basic promise: That no matter who you are, or where you come from, you can make it if you try. I hope you enjoy this timeline that shows how women small business owners are helping to preserve that promise, and create an economy built to last.