In journalism, there’s a little-known secret that statistics can be misleading.

Sure, numbers are what they are, but ask any political strategist about numbers and, if they answer candidly, might tell you, “What would you like them to say?”

That said, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women-owned businesses account for just 16 percent of the total U.S. employment. Yet, against that backdrop of being just a sliver of the current economy, women-owned entrepreneurial ventures are actually the fastest-growing segment and on pace to significantly increase.

Speak with any new business development executive at a business-to-business services firm and you’ll quickly learn that targeting women-owned and run businesses is an area they’re heavily focused upon.

Last year around this time, a report from The Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute noted that women-owned businesses were poised to become the economic job-creator for this decade – estimated to generate more than half of the 9.72 million new small business jobs expected to be created between now and 2018, as well as nearly one-third of the projected 15.3 million total new jobs.

 Numerous studies have been conducted as to why this is a fast-growing sector of the economy, and the commonalities appear to be a dissatisfaction with the corporate track, a desire to avoid worrying about office politics and the allure of controlling one’s own destiny.

 Further, while it’s unfair to try to categorize all women business owners in one nice, neat package, a glance across those dozens of surveys and reports leads to another group of common traits that many women business owners share. Broadly speaking, they are: 

·         More committed to creating growth opportunities for others

·         More receptive to input and guidance from internal and external advisors

·         More proactively customer-focused

·         More likely to incorporate community and environment into their business plans

·         More diligently engaged in strategic and tactical facets of their operations

In my hometown of Cleveland, recently several changes have put women executives at the top of a couple significant companies. First, KeyCorp recently named Beth Mooney as its CEO. This marks the first woman to run a top 20 bank in America. Second, Maryrose Sylvester was named president and CEO of GE Lighting, a multi-billion-dollar division of General Electric.

And finally, in April, Smart Business will present its annual Perspectives: Women Who Excel Conference, which features a dynamic panel discussion among four women executives on the critical issues facing their organizations, as well as insight as to what keeps them up at night. This year, the panel features four executives based in Northeast Ohio, who hold key roles with organizations from $20 million in annual revenue to more than $4 billion. 

So what does all this mean? It's a new world out there in business, and diversity continues to play a larger role. While the ranks of Fortune 500 CEOs still have very few women CEOs and presidents, companies in the SME/SMB space are leading the way in forward thinking.... no matter how you choose to slice the statistics.

 Dustin S. Klein is publisher & executive editor of Smart Business Network, where he oversees national operations. Klein’s first book book, Stella’s Way, is sure to provide a healthy dose of inspiration, and his upcoming book, THE BENEVOLENT DICTATOR, co-written with OfficeMax co-founder Michael Feuer, will hit the streets in June 2011. Reach him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .