Despite a recent study showing women trailing men when it comes to fighting for promotion, that gap may end in mainstream corporate circles. Data from Sheryl Sandberg’s LeanIn.org shows that 80 percent of women want a promotion by 2025 compared to 86 percent of men, creating an “ambition gap” that didn’t exist before. However, other studies suggest that many women are turning to entrepreneurship as a means of advancement.
Women now make up 39.2 percent of all American businesses, generating $3.3 billion in annual revenue, according to a 2025 report from Wells Fargo. Although men still own the majority of businesses overall, women-owned companies are growing at an amazing rate.
Between 2019 and 2024, women-owned employers will increase their workforce by 19.5 percent, compared to 6.6 percent for male employers, according to Wells Fargo. Revenue growth followed a similar pattern: women-owned businesses increased their revenue by 56.8 percent over the same period, compared to 50 percent for male-owned businesses.
Women also launched nearly half of all new businesses last year, according to data from Gusto. Women not only outgrow men; they bridge the gap with just prices.
LeanIn.org has traced the so-called ambition gap to a lack of opportunities and support at work. Back-to-the-office orders, for example, have made progress especially challenging for women, who account for nearly two-thirds of caregivers nationwide. But women do not lack ambition; they simply shape tasks in a way that can be more difficult, says Rachel Blank, founder and CEO of Allara Health, a women’s telemedicine platform.
“Women are expanding the definition of ambition beyond title-chasing to creating impact,” Blank told the Observer. “For a long time, ambition was measured by how closely a person followed a straight, typical male career path—promotion after promotion, often because of flexibility or welfare. Startups and growing companies let women define success themselves.”
“The corporate structure and rigid demands of office work don’t support the flexibility that many women need as we juggle careers and family responsibilities,” Jennifer Millard, a former Mastercard executive who now owns her own startup, Mainelove, a canned water brand, told the Observer. “As an entrepreneur, I can prioritize my life and my family when needed. Ultimately, it’s about impact, and that extends to my team. I don’t care when they work as long as we achieve our goals.”
Millard is not alone in his desire to be flexible.
“After years of mixed or remote work, women don’t want to risk their happiness with this preconception of success,” Julia Sherwin, who left a public relations firm to start her own company in 2023, told the Observer. With strong networks and resources born out of shared challenges, Sherwin said the opportunities for younger generations are more promising.
Despite these changes in favor of female entrepreneurs, gaps still exist. Venture capital deal numbers for women-founded and gender-diverse companies are falling, as global investment dollars increase by 38 percent year-over-year, with the majority of that money flowing to AI companies. High-profile female innovators like “AI goddess” Fei-Fei Li may be charting the way forward, but the venture capital industry remains persistently gender-biased.
Logan Brown, founder of AI-powered legal platform Soxton.AI, told the Observer that the venture capital industry relies on a practice known as pattern matching. “VCs are looking for founders similar to previous successful investments. The fewer female founders, the fewer patterns to match. The more women become founders, the better,” he said.
While Sandberg urged companies to combat gender inequality by establishing procedures to limit bias, many women say they can’t wait for the normal business climate to meet their needs.
“Business does not eliminate burdens [that women face],” said Brown. “But it changes who sets the goals.”
