by Michelle Shaffer
BBB Oregon
Development Manager
Freedom and independence,
according to various reports, are
motivation for men and women
to run their own business.
However, in a country with only
a small percentage of women
at the helm of corporations
—14.2 percent reported by CNN
Money —independence for
women looks vastly different. If
Americans view being the boss
as the roadway to freedom and
happiness, the organizational
charts at most corporations
map out a detoured route for
women or more accurately,
road closures.
‘Women-Owned Business’ is
a rapidly growing category in
the United States. According
to The 2015 State of Women
Owned Businesses Report,
commissioned by American
Express OPEN, the nation saw a
51 percent rise in overall business
establishments over the last 18
years. Of these establishments,
the number of women-owned
businesses rose an astounding
74 percent. That’s one and a
half times the national average;
an apparent answer to the
corporate leadership roadblocks.
Team vs Self-Sufficiency
Being a ‘team player’ is
a popular connotation of
employee relations. Employees
are encouraged to work as a
team however, if corporate
environments are not nurturing
female leadership then they fall
short of that objective. Women
with ambitions of leadership are
often seen, by both genders, as
not being a team player. Data
suggests this isolation carries
over into entrepreneurship.
Women starting their own
businesses almost always go
it alone, perhaps to defend
against the pitfalls the team
mentality of corporate
environments presented when
they sought advancement.
Continued on page 16
TORCH TALK MARCH 2016
N E W S FROM B B B OREGON: S A FE T Y I N N U M B ER S—
N OT FOR FEM A LE ENTREPREN EU R S
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