may have been drawn to this book because you want to create more wealth. You may want to become financially independent and have more freedom. Perhaps you want to discover the principles of manifesting wealth and abundance in all areas of your life. You may want to resolve conflicting beliefs and emotions about money so you can create positive beliefs and feel more empowered about money. Or you may want to increase your corporate income. Perhaps you are in transition from the corporate world to the entrepreneurial world and want to more confidently charge what you are worth. As an entrepreneur, you may want more sales, more clients, or a higher income. You may also want to realize your financial dreams and leverage your business and wealth to achieve a much bigger vision and mission in order to make a difference.
Whatever the reasons, you have invited this book into your life because you are on an accelerated path to personal and spiritual growth. This path will enable you to make a positive contribution to the world and to uplift humanity through your life’s work.
There has never been a better time for women to take control of our financial independence. In fact, a powerful global shift is taking place in support of women’s empowerment. Now is the best time to serve the world in a bigger way by stepping into your role as the CEO and leader of your life and business, with no apologies.
The following statistics, collected at the time of this writing, provide a brief snapshot of women’s growing economic power:
• Women control $39.6 trillion, approximately 30 percent, of the world’s wealth. By 2020 it is estimated that women will control $72.1 trillion of global wealth due to inheritances, settlements, and entrepreneurship.
• There are 190 female billionaires worldwide.
• Women control more than 60 percent of all personal wealth in the United States.
• In higher education, 57 percent of women in the United States hold bachelor’s degrees, 60 percent hold master’s degrees, and 51 percent hold doctoral degrees.
• In the United States 40 percent of women are the primary or sole breadwinners.
• In the United States 70 percent of women with children under the age of eighteen participate in the labor force.
• The global incomes of women are predicted to reach $18 trillion by 2018. Women will control close to 75 percent of discretionary spending around the world.
• Women control 85 percent of all purchasing decisions in the United States.
In terms of business, in 2012 the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor estimated that 126 million women were starting or running new businesses in sixty-seven world economies. In addition, an estimated 98 million women were running established businesses (for three years or more). In Canada 15 percent of small to medium businesses are owned by women.
Forbes magazine refers to entrepreneurship as the new “Women’s Movement.” Since 2007 there has been a rise in women-owned businesses in the Unites States, with 1,072 (net) new women-owned firms launched each day. Between 2007 and 2016 women-owned firms increased by 45 percent, five times the national average. Many women are leaving their corporate jobs to experience greater freedom and flexibility, to find a more meaningful way to make a difference, and to take control of their income and livelihoods.
According to a 2016 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, commissioned by American Express OPEN, there are 11.3 million women-owned businesses in the United States, employing close to 9 million people and generating more than $1.6 trillion in revenues.
These figures will continue to grow, owing to a partnership between the governments of Canada and the United States, resulting in the creation of a joint Council for Advancement of Women Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders. The purpose of the initiative is to support women’s economic growth by helping to remove barriers to competitiveness for women entrepreneurs as well as to address issues facing women in the workforce, including those faced by senior leaders. This means that women entrepreneurs will have greater access to networks, capital, and markets in starting and growing successful businesses.
There is much to celebrate with these positive advancements. At the same time, there is also much room for improvement. Despite women comprising half the world’s population, and representing the largest growing market, they still remain an untapped power. This is particularly the case in four key areas: earnings, leadership, politics, and business income.
In the area of earnings, the wage gap continues to exist:
• On a global average, women earn 77 cents for every dollar men earn.
• In Canada women earn 87 cents for every dollar men earn.
• In the United Kingdom women earn 9.4 percent less than men.
• In the United States women earn 79 cents for every dollar men earn.
In the area of leadership, a 2017 report by Fortune Knowledge Group, in collaboration with Royal Bank of Canada, states that only 4.2 percent of women hold CEO positions in Fortune 500 companies and 9 percent globally.
The reality of these figures contradicts years of research indicating that companies that are engaged in gender diversity and that have women in leadership roles are 15 percent more likely to experience higher financial performance. In the same report, more than 7,500 senior management positions in Fortune 500 companies were identified in 2016, of which 19 percent were held by women.
On corporate boards:
• Globally women held 14.7 percent of board seats in 2015. Only 20 percent of boards have at least three women.
• European countries such as Norway (46.7 percent), France (34 percent), and Sweden (33.6 percent) are leading the way in having the highest percentage of women on their boards.
• Countries with the lowest percentage of women on boards include Taiwan (4.5 percent), South Korea (4.1 percent), and Japan (3.5 percent).
• The percentage of women on corporate boards in the United States is 19.9 percent and 21.6 percent in Canada.
• While the percentages are higher in Europe, women in general are far less likely to lead boards or board committees.
• In the political sphere, as of 2016, globally only one in five people elected to office were women.
• In early 2017 there were ten women serving as heads of state and nine as heads of government around the world.
• In the United States 19 percent of the House of Representatives and 21 percent of the Senate members are women.
• In Canada 26 percent of the House of Commons and 43 percent of the Senate members are women.
• In the United Kingdom 29 percent of the members of Parliament and 26 percent of members in the House of Lords are women.
In the area of entrepreneurship, globally women continue to face various challenges to their success, including limited access to funding, lack of available mentors and role models, an imbalanced share of family work, and a lack of self-confidence. In fact, according to the Kauffman Foundation, nearly 80 percent of women in the tech industry in the United States use personal savings for capital because of limited access.
While the number of female-owned businesses in the United States is growing five times faster than the national average, these businesses are contributing only
