Fast Facts

At no other time in history have four distinct generations, traditionalists, baby boomers, generation X and millennials, co-existed in the U.S. labor force. SPW believes that no matter what generation we are, we can learn from each other.

• Philadelphia was ranked the 14th best paying city for Women, with a mean salary of $51,355 (70% of the mean salary for men in Philadelphia), according to a 2010 census survey
• 18% of the top leadership roles in the United States are held by Women
• Only 44% of women say that they have asked for a raise
• 72% of women say that they have ever asked for a promotion
• Women, on average, ask for 30 percent less money than males
• When women do get a raise, it is on average only 2% versus a man’s average raise of 21%
• In 2010, women filled only 11 percent of board seats at the largest 100 public companies in Philadelphia
• In 2010, women held 10.1 percent of senior executive positions at the largest 100 public companies in Philadelphia and comprised 9.6 percent of the “top earners”
• More than 90% of the firms in the S&P 500 have female directors, but not a single company has a board where the majority of directors are female.
• Globally, women control $20 trillion in annual consumer spending decisions. This number could hit $28 trillion in five years.
• One in five firms with revenues of $1 million or more is woman-owned.
• Women-owned firms (50% or more) account for 40% of all privately held firms
• Women account for 51 percent of all workers in the high-paying management, professional, and related occupations.
• The number of women-owned businesses continues to grow at twice the rate of all U.S. firms, and their economic influence is increasing at speeds exceeding the national average.
• Nationwide, more than 10 million businesses are owned by women, employing more than 12 million people and generating almost $2 trillion in sales
• Women invest 90% of income back into their community, while men invest only 30-40%
• One in 11 women is an entrepreneur
• Women represent 49.8% of the U.S. online population and account for 58% of dollars spent online.
• Websites for women, by women, have undergone rapid growth in the past few years, nearly doubling since July '06 and rising 35% last year alone, reaching 84 million visitors in July
• In 2009 there are 95.9 million men online and 103.2 million women online. Men are 48.2% of the overall Internet population (those who access the Internet at least once a month from any location). Projections show that by 2013, men will only make up 47.9% of Internet users
• Women hold only 3% of clout positions in the mainstream media
• Women now hold a nearly 3-to-2 majority in undergraduate and graduate education
• Of the doctoral degrees awarded in the 2008-09 academic year, 28,962 went to women and 28,469 to men
• 66 million women are employed in the U.S.; 74% of employed women work on full-time jobs, while 26% work on a part-time basis
• Women comprise 46.8% of the total U.S. labor force and are projected to account for 46.9% of the labor force in 2018
• 95% of family financial decisions are made by women
• Women own more than 47% of the stocks
• Women are more likely to seek business advice—69% women vs. 47% men
• There are more than 8 million female-owned businesses in America today as compared to only 400,000 in 1972
• Of the Fortune 500, 3% of the CEOs are women while 7% of CFOs are women
• Women continue to earn the majority of bachelor's degrees, and are projected to earn in the majority of master's years
• Of the 16,950 state court judges in the U.S., 26% (4,325) are women
• Women make up nearly 1 out of every 2 law firm associates, but only 1 out of every 6 equity partners
• 65% of women in senior management positions have children (they kept their job and are raising a family)
• Median earnings of full-year female workers in 2007 were 71% of earnings of comparable men, compared with 52% in 1970
• Women earn 76 cents for every dollar a man earns
• Women hold 15% of all U.S. corporate board seats
• Young women and mothers are the fastest growing demographics of entrepreneurs
• Women are starting businesses at twice the rate of men
• Within the last 40 years, 61% of the more than 70 million new jobs created in the U.S went to women
• About 25% of businesses in each of Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties are owned by women
• Companies with the highest representation of women on their Board of Directors also saw a 42% higher return on sales
• At the current rate of progress, the gender pay gap will not be closed for another 50 years
• 26% of PA businesses are women-owned
• More than 60 of the largest 100 companies in the Philadelphia metropolitan area have no women in top executive positions