Entrepreneurship for Women: 'Escape from the Pink Collar Ghetto.' Occasional Paper No. 121.

The role of small business and entrepreneurship in today's economy is well documented. Entrepreneurship and small business ownership are an especially attractive option for women. Women have been seeking an escape from traditional, low-paying, dead-end jobs by choosing entrepreneurship at a rate five times faster than that of men. Women now own almost 26 percent of small businesses in America, and the number of female-owned firms in the United States rose 75 percent between 1977 and 1983. Over 91 percent of female small proprietorships fall into the categories of service, retail, finance, real estate, or insurance compared with 73 percent of all sole proprietorships. Education has a key role to play in educating women in the skills and the options of business ownership from the time they are young girls. Programs are especially needed in the following areas: management education (the operation of the free enterprise system, basic business skills, math and risk taking, and money management); marketing, particularly selling and negotiating skills; and business capitalization and financial management. Although federal, state, and local policymakers have already begun to recognize the potential of entrepreneurship as an economic development resource for women, the message has been slow in reaching educators. It is especially important for educators to develop better career orientiation material that reflects the rapid labor market changes taking place, to introduce more female role models with high-growth businesses as speakers, and to develop case studies and materials featuring female business owners. (MN)