Oct 25, 2016 | Economic Security, Entrepreneurs, State Initiatives, Vermont, Work
[x_button shape=”square” size=”regular” float=”none” href=”http://changethestoryvt.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/CTS-2016-Status-Report_Womens-Business-Ownership-and-the-VT-Economy.pdf” title=”2016 Status Report: Women’s Business Ownership and the Vermont Economy” target=”blank” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover”]Read “Women’s BusinessOwnership and the Vermont Economy [/x_button]
Mercy Connections, Women’s Small Business Program
Director: Carmen Tall
Offering a variety of classes and discussion groups like:
- Getting Serious: Intro to Self-Employment
- Start Up: Comprehensive Business Planning
- Personal Financial Empowerment Programs
- Personal Financial Resource Groups: Money-Management Discussions
Learn more.
Women Business Owners Network (WBON) is the membership choice for women entrepreneurs seeking connections, resources and tools to scale into greater economic, social and political arenas in Vermont and beyond.
Learn more. Join as a member.
Director: Gwen Pokalo
CWE provides opportunities for women entrepreneurs and women in business to increase professional success, personal growth, and financial independence. They offer:
- Education
- Training
- Technical assistance
- Women’s business enterprise certification
Learn more.
Director: Linda Rossi
The VT SBDC works as a team to positively impact sustainable, economic development in Vermont by strengthening both established businesses and start-up entrepreneurs. They offer certified professionals who specialize in high quality, innovative advising and training to be responsive and serve the market.
Find an Advisor near you.
Executive Director: Cary Brown
Vermont Commission on Women is an independent non-partisan state government commission dedicated to advancing rights and opportunities for women in Vermont since 1964. They have a list of great resources for women’s business and entrepreneurship on their website.
Learn more here.
Oct 17, 2016 | Corporate, Economic Security, Entrepreneurs, Occupational Segregation, State Initiatives, Talent Management, Vermont, Wage Gap, Work, Workplace Diversity
This is the third in a series of briefs published by Change The Story on topics related to women’s economic status. This report focuses specifically on business ownership by women and its potential to bolster and invigorate Vermont’s economy. Like the majority of national and regional reports on businesses, this report relies heavily on data from the 2012 U.S. Census Survey of Business Owners. Unless otherwise noted, all statistics are specific to Vermont. To date, we have had to rely on national reports to define the health of Vermont’s women-owned businesses. But their conclusions paint conflicting pictures: one analysis of 2014 data ranked Vermont first among states for entrepreneurs, while another ranked Vermont 50th. The difference between these rankings begs the question: What is the real story for Vermont women and business ownership?
Download the full report.
Download the companion slide deck.
Among the findings:
- Women-owned businesses are vital to Vermont’s economy.
- Women own 23,417 businesses in Vermont, which employ 36,326 people, and generate annual revenues of approximately $2.2 billion.
- Although growing at a faster rate than businesses owned by men, women-owned firms in Vermont are fewer in number, smaller in size, and lower in annual revenues.
- Between 2007-2011, the number of female-owned businesses grew 15%; during the same period male-owned businesses grew by only 6%.
- Women-owned businesses generate 9% of gross revenues and employ 12% of workers in privately-held Vermont firms.
- Women business owners are significantly underrepresented in 9 of the 10 highest grossing sectors. This limits financial opportunities for individual women and their potential contributions to Vermont’s economy.
- Women-owned businesses have the potential to play a much bigger role in Vermont’s economic development.
- If the percent of women-owned businesses that are employers matched that of male-owned businesses, and those firms had the same average receipts, it would add $3.8 billion to Vermont’s economy.
- If Vermont women chose business ownership at the same rate as men, it would result in more than 10,500 new businesses.
- If just 1 in 4 of the existing 20,786 women-owned businesses without employees hired just one worker, it would result in an additional 5,200 new jobs.
- Maximizing the potential of women-owned businesses - and indeed all of VT businesses - requires new and better data.
- While existing business-related data sources can provide reliable top-line statistics, they are less useful in revealing nuanced information about the motivations, challenges or opportunities experienced by Vermont business owners. Focusing on the finer points of what makes a business successful is critical to Vermont’s economic future.
Oct 12, 2016 | CTS in the news, Data, Economic Security, Occupational Segregation, Vermont, Work
You’re Invited on October 19th!
What: An event and keynote address that tackles the question: what is the real story for Vermont women and business ownership?
Change The Story VT (CTS) will reveal findings from its third report on the status of women-owned businesses in Vermont.
Policy makers, business association members, economic development professionals and interested members of the public are invited to attend this address by CTS Director Tiffany Bluemle, with Pat Heffernan and Laura Lind-Blum of Research Partners, and Vermont Commission on Women’s Cary Brown.
No RSVP is required for the report keynote.
Who: Change The Story VT and the Vermont Commission on Women
When: Wednesday, October 19, 2016 from 11:15am – 12:15pm (this is part of a larger event – the Women Business Owner Network Fall Conference) - There’s still time to register for the full conference.
Where: Vermont State House – House Chamber
Why: As women in the U.S. and in Vermont are starting businesses in increasing numbers, any analysis of women’s economic well-being must consider the status of self-employed entrepreneurs. The report focuses specifically on business ownership by women, its impact on women’s income, and its potential to bolster and invigorate Vermont’s economy.
A few findings from the report:
- Thirty-two (32%) of Vermont businesses are women-owned and add billions of dollars and thousands of jobs to the state’s workforce and economy. In fact, between 2007-2012, women own 23,417 businesses in VT, employ 36,326 people, and generate annual revenues of $2.2 billion.
- When comparing the average annual revenues of male and female-owned firms in Vermont, women make 19 cents on every dollar of revenue that VT male-owned businesses make.
- Women are significantly underrepresented in 9 of the 10 highest grossing sectors. This limits financial opportunities for individual women and their potential contributions to the Vermont’s economy.
The full report will be released on October 19th. Be sure to join our mailing list to get your copy!
[x_button shape=”square” size=”regular” float=”none” href=”http://changethestoryvt.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/WOB-Report-Press-Release-Oct-12-2016.pdf” title=”Download the full press release.” target=”blank” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover”]Download the full press release.[/x_button]
[x_button shape=”square” size=”regular” float=”none” href=”http://changethestoryvt.org/2016-status-report-womens-business-ownership-and-the-vt-economy/” title=”The full report is now available.” target=”blank” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover”]The full report is now available.[/x_button]
Jun 20, 2016 | Economic Security, State Initiatives, Vermont, Women of Color/Visible Minorities
“For two decades, the Vermont Women’s Economic Opportunity Conference has been a staple of that effort, serving as a catalyst of entrepreneurship and an engine of advancement. It has helped countless Vermont women from all walks of life embark on new careers, build new partnerships and develop new skills. It has empowered them to take risks, to follow their passions and to fight for their rightful seat at the table. And in doing so, it has created jobs, grown businesses and helped strengthen the economy not only of this great state, but of the entire nation. That’s because the prosperity and well-being of America is increasingly tied to the prosperity and well-being of American women. Today, women constitute more than half of the country’s workforce. More women are graduating from college than men and have since the 1990s. And a growing number of women are now their family’s primary earner, which means that how much we spend on things like housing and health care increasingly depends on women’s professional success. As President Obama has said, “When women do well, everybody does well.”
“Ultimately, that’s what your presence here today is all about. By daring to make your dreams a reality; by demanding to be treated as equals; by striving to hone your skills and expand your horizons; and by forging bonds and building relationships with one another, you are creating positive change, right here in your great state. You are challenging our institutions to become more open and inclusive. You are helping our society to recognize that diversity only makes us stronger. And, above all, you are serving as powerful role models for your daughters, your granddaughters and all those who will follow, ensuring by your example that the next generation will carry us even further down the path to a brighter, a more equal and a more just future.”
Read Senator Leahy’s full remarks from WEOC.
Read about the event in the Valley News.
[x_button shape=”square” size=”regular” float=”none” href=”https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-loretta-e-lynch-delivers-remarks-20th-annual-vermont-womens-economic” title=”Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch Delivers Remarks at the 20th Annual Vermont Women’s Economic Opportunity Conference” target=”blank” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover”]Read U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s full remarks[/x_button]
Apr 11, 2016 | Corporate, Economic Security, Occupational Segregation, State Initiatives, Talent Management, Vermont, Wage Gap, Work, Workplace Diversity
This is the second in a series of briefs published by Change The Story on topics related to women’s economic status. This report focuses specifically on occupational segregation, its impact on women’s wages, and the way in which it compromises Vermont’s ability to make the most of home-grown talent. Much of the data in this report is new or not regularly collected or published. All of it is specific to Vermont and all is critical - not just in terms of what it reflects about women, but in its implications for the entire Vermont economy.
Download the full report.
Download the companion slide deck.
Among our findings:
- Women who work full-time struggle to make ends meet.
- Of the 15 occupations in which women’s median annual salaries top $35,000, nearly half are in male-dominated fields.
- Occupational segregation, the uneven distribution of labor across and within sectors by gender, is the norm – not the exception – in Vermont.
- In 15 of 25 major occupational categories tracked by the U.S. Census, either men or women are 70% or more of all workers.
- Forty years after Title IX, women’s work continues to be women’s work.
- The gender balance in most traditionally female occupations has remained nearly constant from 1970-2013. Nearly half of women working full-time in Vermont continue to be employed in the same occupations in which they worked forty years ago.
- The next generation of female electricians, coders, and engineers isn’t in the pipeline.
- Young women are a small fraction of students who completed computer science, engineering, trades and technical programs at state career and technical high schools: 9% of those in information technology; 6% in manufacturing; 6% in transportation; and 5% in architecture and construction.
- While the gender breakdown is essentially equal among high school students taking Advanced Placement (AP) tests in calculus, chemistry, and biology, young women are a minority of students earning college degrees in physics, chemistry, computer science, economics, and engineering.
- Occupational segregation is costly – not just for women, but for employers and the Vermont economy.
- Nearly 60% of high-wage, high-demand entry-level occupations are those in which women are a significant minority of workers. Occupational segregation limits the pool of potential workers for jobs employers need to fill.
Apr 8, 2016 | Corporate, Economic Security, Leadership, Occupational Segregation, Talent Management, Wage Gap, Work, Workplace Diversity
“The United States could add up to $4.3 trillion in annual GDP in 2025 if women attain full gender equality. In a new report, The power of parity: Advancing women’s equality in the United States, the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) finds that every US state and city can add at least 5 percent to their GDP in that period by advancing the economic potential of women. Half of US states have the potential to add more than 10 percent, and the country’s 50 largest cities can increase GDP by 6 to 13 percent.
While the barriers hindering women from fully participating in the labor market make it unlikely that they will attain full gender equality within a decade, the report finds that in a best-in-class scenario—in which each US state matches the state with the fastest rate of improvement toward gender parity in work over the past decade—some $2.1 trillion of incremental GDP could be added in 2025. That is 10 percent higher than in a business-as-usual scenario.”
[x_button shape=”square” size=”regular” float=”none” href=”http://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/employment-and-growth/The-power-of-parity-Advancing-womens-equality-in-the-United-States?cid=mckwomen-eml-alt-mgi-mck-oth-1604″ title=”The power of parity: Advancing women’s equality in the United States” target=”blank” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover”]Read more and download the full report[/x_button]
