My years as an adolescent female were during the time when women were totally dependent upon their husbands financially and men were totally dependent on their wives domestically. This influence has had a positive and a negative impact.

Being an Internet home based business woman I want to support other women aspiring to become home-based business owners by offering some facts about their role in the American Dream. I want to encourage and inform where I can. Women have come a long way within the business arena due to desire and due to necessity.

Now we can have it all--a happy marriage, children, friends and a successful business if we choose.

Go ahead, think and step outside of the familiar box. You are definitely not alone!

There are 143,368,343 females (50.9%) and 138,053,563 males (49.1%) living in the United States (excluding the US Armed Forces overseas.)

Recent facts about American women business owners:

Women own approximately 66% of home-based businesses, numbering 3.5 million and provide full or part-time employment for an estimated 14 million people. In today's economy, home-based businesses are a growth industry.

The number of women-owned businesses has grown faster than the national average by 20%.

73% of women-owned businesses are home-based businesses.

Between 68% and 70% of women's home based businesses will survive over a three-year period.

By 2010 women are expected to control $1 trillion, or 60% of the country's wealth, according to research conducted by Business Week and Gallup.

Women business owners' economic clout and business-related purchases continue to rise. It is estimated that we will spend $33.5 billion this year on telecommunications equipment, enhanced services and Internet access, according to the Insight Research Corporation.

Women make up 51% of the population but spend more than 80% of the money, including purchases of athletic shoes, home improvement products, new homes, furniture and medical and health care needs.

Women earn $.77 for every $1.00 men earn when their job is outside the home.

Four in 10 (39%) women business leaders are involved in the international marketplace.

Women entrepreneurs are more likely than men business owners to place value on business relationships and on information.

Women business owners are more likely than their male counterparts to seek out the opinions and input of others.

Education:

It is projected that by 2011 women will outnumber men in undergraduate programs by 10.2 million to 7.4 million. Women will earn 59% of the master's degrees and 60% of the doctoral degrees for the years 2005-2006. This has more than doubled from 20 years earlier according to Business and Professional Women's Foundation.

Motherhood/Marriage:

82.5 million are the estimated number of mothers of all ages in the United States (unpublished data), with 1.9 children being the average number of children women have given birth to between the ages of 40-44. This is down from 3.1 children since the Census Bureau began collecting data in 1976.

There are 5.8 million stay-at-home moms nationwide.

There are 60 million unmarried (widowed, divorced or never married) women nationwide.

AND

1.7 million women are military veterans.

Did You Know.....?

Women entrepreneurs' backgrounds are:

Management 25%
Sales 21%
Accounting/finance 18%
Marketing 6%
Engineering/manufacturing 4%
Human Resources 3%
Other 23%

What women like about being entrepreneurs:

Being their own boss 20%
Setting their own hours 17%
Controlling their destiny 17%
Pleasing customers 16%
Making decisions 15%
Achieving goals 10%

Thanks for allowing me to share and learn.

The information in this article was acquired from these sources: Fact Monster, U.S. Census Bureau, Road & Travel Magazine, Women's Business Owners Advisory Link, and American Fact Finder.