New research shows women-owned businesses and their revenues continue to gain ground and are core to Canada’s economy

/EIN News/ -- TORONTO, March 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH) annual State of Women’s Entrepreneurship (SOWE) research shows that women entrepreneurs are driving economic development, innovation, export and job creation. Released online and through a series of French and English events during International Women’s Month, WEKH’s sixth annual SOWE report highlights the reasons why small and medium-sized enterprises are central in fighting Canada’s looming trade war and also why a gender and diversity lens is critical to strengthening Canada’s economy.

“As Canada’s economy faces geopolitical risks, trade tariffs, digital transformation and economic uncertainty, it’s important to understand that women are majority owners of almost 20 percent of private sector businesses,” said Wendy Cukier, founder of the Diversity Institute, WEKH academic director and report co-author. “While banks in Canada employ about 300,000 people, women-owned private sector businesses employ close to one million, according to the last data available from 2020, and generate over $90 billion in revenues.”  

“Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the engine of Canada’s economy. While in the U.S. 50 percent of private sector employment is with large corporations, in Canada it is closer to 10 percent. Government policies regarding economic development, trade and innovation, often focus on the interests of corporations because it is believed, for example, that for every job in the auto sector there are multiplier effects with 6 other jobs in the supply chain being affected. But previous work in collaboration with Morley Gunderson, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto showed that SMEs also have significant “multiplier effects” particularly in smaller communities. And, generating wealth for women entrepreneurs had significant impacts on families and communities as well as sustainability. In the third quarter of 2024, businesses majority-owned by women were more likely than businesses across all ownership types to have implemented environmental practices.”

In Canada, the proportion of SME businesses majority-owned by women continues to steadily increase from 15.6 percent in 2017 to 17.8 percent in 2023, despite the massive disruption of COVID-19. Private sector women-owned businesses have also increased. In 2024, the percentage of majority women-owned businesses, including SMEs and large businesses, fluctuated for an average of 19 percent. Most women entrepreneurs are self employed - accounting for almost 40 percent of self employed Canadians.

Women have worked hard to grow their businesses and have bridged many gaps - they now are almost as likely to export as men with 14.5 percent of businesses majority-owned by women versus 15.3 percent of those majority-owned by men in 2023. This means their businesses are just as affected by the tariff wars and trade barriers are a growing concern, particularly for those in textiles, apparel, and food production. A recent survey found that 64 percent of women entrepreneurs expect tariffs to harm their business but three quarters (77%) are actively seeking solutions, such as diversifying supply chains and increasing marketing efforts.

Speaking as a panelist at WEKH’ English and PCFE’s French launch of the SOWE report, Ruth Vachon, Chef de la direction, Réseau des Femmes d'affaires du Québec (RFAQ) said, “I feel that we are facing an emergency so we have to do something now, or it's going to be too late. Our strategy to counter US tariffs must include women-owned businesses and Canadian values. Women entrepreneurs need to look at inter-provincial trade and collaborate with other Canadian women-business owners and be quick. I’m also concerned about the backlash towards EDI, which is not a project or performative but makes good business sense. It is crucial to strengthen support for women-led businesses—all women—to ensure Canada’s competitiveness. Supporting women-led businesses in this unstable global context is not just a matter of equity; it is a crucial economic strategy to strengthen Canada’s resilience and competitiveness. Taking decisive action in this area will position Canada as a global leader in inclusive economy and sustainable innovation.”

“Women’s entrepreneurship must remain a priority and cannot be an afterthought - it is central to our economic and social development and meeting our sustainability goals, said Tania Saba, BMO Chair in diversity and Governance and professor at the School of Industrial Relations at Université de Montréal, co-chair of the WEKH advisory committee and leader of the Quebec WEKH Hub. “You cannot go into a trade war with half an army. We need SMEs, including those owned by women, Indigenous peoples, racialized peoples, those owned by immigrants and others to be central to the strategy. Our diversity is part of our global competitive advantage - leveraging Canada’s immigrant diasporas to quickly enter new markets is a massive opportunity and so is harnessing the power and resilience of women. Women are 51 percent of the workforce, influence the majority of purchasing decisions and are a powerhouse of innovation and entrepreneurs in this country.”

Other report key findings include:

• Revenues are also growing. In 2024, 68.6 percent of majority women-owned businesses kept pace or had higher revenues than the previous year, slightly outpacing others (67.9% in 2024 versus 65.8% in 2022).
• Businesses majority-owned by women also demonstrate the highest overall innovation rate at 38.0%, significantly outperforming businesses with no women ownership (25.6%).
• While still under-represented in some sectors, women entrepreneurs are increasing their presence in traditionally male dominated and capital-intensive industries such as manufacturing (10.0% vs. 9.5% in 2020), construction (7.8% vs. 3.7% in 2020), and agriculture, forestry, mining, and oil and gas extraction (9.5% vs. 5.8%).
• There is still a digital divide. Women-owned businesses are less likely to adopt emerging technologies like AI, with an adoption rate of 12.3% compared to 16.5% among men-owned businesses. But generative AI tools are gaining ground.
• First Nations, Métis and Inuit entrepreneurs are creating businesses at five times the rate of non-Indigenous Canadians and Indigenous owned businesses are more likely to be majority-owned by women than non-Indigenous-owned businesses.
• Black-owned SMEs have the highest rate of majority women ownership at 38.8%, followed by Southeast Asian (25.2%) and Chinese (23.6%) businesses.
• Canadian entrepreneurs scored highest on several indicators of perceived entrepreneurial skills including perceived opportunities, perceived capabilities and entrepreneurial intentions compared to other economies of nations (USA, UK, Germany, France, Italy)
  

 For more information, please contact: Kathleen Powderley, 416-803-5597, kathleen@responsiblecomm.ca