Women’s Entrepreneurship Day: The fastest growing group of business owners

For Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, I want to celebrate the resilience and innovation of women entrepreneurs – particularly Black women and women of color, who are the fastest-growing group of business owners in America.

Women-led businesses have surged in recent years, with Black women-owned businesses growing 51% between 2019 and 2024. This growth accelerated during the pandemic when women – especially in service sectors – lost jobs at much higher rates than men.

As barriers faced by women workers mount, entrepreneurship becomes less of a choice and more of a survival strategy.

But we also need to talk about why many women are turning to entrepreneurship: they’re being pushed out of traditional workplaces. More than 400,000 women have left the workforce since January. Labor force participation for mothers with children under 5 has dropped by almost 5%. 

This exodus comes as the Trump Administration has fired federal women workers, attacked programs that create equal employment opportunities, and instructed federal agencies to stop enforcing key components of workplace civil rights laws. Legislation that would ensure paid family leave and affordable childcare continues to languish in Congress, as does federal pay equity legislation. Return-to-office mandates with zero flexibility are on the rise, leaving some women sidelined to perform caretaking responsibilities.

As barriers faced by women workers mount, entrepreneurship becomes less of a choice and more of a survival strategy.

Women-led businesses have surged in recent years, with Black women-owned businesses growing 51% between 2019 and 2024

So, while we celebrate the determination and creativity of women entrepreneurs today, we also remain committed to defending and expanding women’s rights in the workplace. 

Women’s economic security depends on strong workplace protections, pay transparency, affordable childcare, and enforcement of civil rights laws. We’ve proven these solutions work. For instance, California passed the California Fair Pay Act ten years ago, with the support of the  business community. The results? California’s pay gap is shrinking quicker than those states that have failed to act. 

The blueprint exists. The question is whether we have the political will to implement it.

And this law sparked a broader movement. Dozens of states have followed California’s lead with stronger pay equity and paid family leave laws, policies that help keep women at work and enable them to navigate the country’s affordability crisis. The blueprint exists. The question is whether we have the political will to implement it.

Women entrepreneurs can help. As you build your own business, thank you for joining us in supporting policies that help women stay and thrive in the workplace.