Though the current number of women leading Fortune 500 companies is at an all-time high, it’s still disappointingly low. Just 8.2 percent of Fortune 500 companies currently have a woman CEO. This, despite the fact that women fill about 40 percent of management positions overall and make up roughly half of the workforce. In other words, though women have made significant progress toward equality in the workplace, the glass ceiling is still very real.
So what’s the solution? There’s not just one, really. Companies that want to improve women’s access to leadership positions can take a number of different paths. They can improve mentoring opportunities for women, institute programs that fight implicit bias in hiring, and more. For some women, however, these kinds of programs won’t be enough to break the barrier. And some women are understandably running out of patience with a biased system.
Many of these women are turning to entrepreneurship, including franchising, to achieve their dreams. In fact, women currently own more than 11.6 million of the nation’s businesses. These women-owned businesses employ almost 9 million people and generate $1.7 trillion in sales annually. Compared to the 8.2 percent of Fortune 500 companies with women CEOs, 39 percent of privately held firms are majority women-owned. In franchising, a full 41 percent of new franchises are opened by women, and women ownership in the franchise industry is growing at a faster rate than women business ownership overall.
There are several specific reasons that franchising can be an excellent option for women who want to be business leaders.
Franchising removes the glass ceiling.
Women franchise owners don’t just break the glass ceiling–they get rid of it entirely. As a franchise owner, you’re the boss. No one else controls how far you can advance. If you want to own just one franchise and operate it yourself, you can do that. If you want to own several locations and build a team, you can do that, too. The only limits are your own ambition and abilities.
Women franchise owners make more money.
Though the franchising industry still has an earnings gap between men and women, women franchise owners make significantly more money than their corporate-employed counterparts. In fact, the multiple is almost double. Women franchise owners with a couple of years of experience tend to be around 45 years old, with an average annual income of about $88,000. Corporate-employed women of the same age, however, earn an average of just $48,000 annually.
Franchising provides flexibility.
Mothers have always known it, but the pandemic has made it abundantly clear: juggling a career and parenting is especially challenging for women. On the one hand, leadership-minded mothers may find their ambitions stymied by assumptions that they don’t want to put in long hours, travel for work, or shoulder other responsibilities required by top positions. On the other hand, mothers who want to gain more flexibility or work-life balance often face rigid expectations of when and how productivity has to happen. Franchising removes those barriers by giving you control over your schedule, level of involvement in the business, and work environment.
Women franchisees get to help other women.
As business owners, women franchisees have numerous opportunities to mentor other women. The most obvious opportunity comes through your own franchise, where you can mentor women employees. Through your franchisor’s owner network, you can also volunteer as a mentor for new franchise owners or a resource for prospects. And with some franchise concepts, such as salon franchises, you get to help your own clients grow as entrepreneurs.
If you’re a woman who’s considering franchising as a path to achieve your leadership goals, I’d love to help. I’ve mentored a number of women leaders over the course of my career and believe deeply in the importance of women having equal opportunity to reach their full potential. We can get started with just a 15-minute “virtual coffee.” Book some time on my calendar today!
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