Choose Women Wednesday - Empower and celebrate women in business on Choose Women Wednesday.

Choose Women Wednesday 2024 – December 4, 2024

Choose Women Wednesday is celebrated every year on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving. This year, it will be held on November 30. The day seeks to appreciate, support, listen to and stand up for women. It also attempts to create awareness about the many women working for and successfully running businesses in a world that still thinks a woman’s place is at home. The day is celebrated in hopes of countering these old notions and instead of making people realize the potential and power women hold. The day educates both customers and businesses on making the right choice and uplifting female entrepreneurs and promoting women-owned owned-businesses.

History of Choose Women Wednesday

Choose Women Wednesday is an international platform established in 2014 by Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization, a non-governmental movement that seeks to empower, celebrate and support women in business to reduce poverty around the world.It takes place on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving as its creation was inspired by holidays devoted to shopping and giving like Small Business Saturday and Giving Tuesday.Choose Women Wednesday initially began as Women on Wednesday and has gone by a few names, including Women Owned Wednesday, #WomenWOW, WomenWednesday, and Women Wednesday until it was finally changed to Choose Women Wednesday in 2016.While the day’s main agenda is to support female entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses, it also has the broader goals of uplifting people from poverty and bridging the gender gap in all areas. It is more than just a celebration – it is also a movement about the fight to ensure women receive the spotlight and support that they deserve. This fight is based on the fact that women are still not treated the same as their male counterparts when it comes to compensation and opportunities in the workforce.Research has shown that the average female entrepreneur gets less than half the funding of her male counterpart. This is why it’s important to encourage movements like these that get people involved in listening to, supporting, and standing up for women from all walks of life for the betterment of everyone. It’s not just time to close the gender gap, but it’s also the time to shatter the glass ceiling and tell people everywhere that the age of favoring men is over. It’s time to look beyond the patriarchy and choose women.

Choose Women Wednesday timeline

1739
The First-Female Owned Business

Eliza Lucas Pinckney takes over her family's plantations in South Carolina at the age of 16.

18th And 19th Centuries
Women Operate Businesses

Women start operating small businesses obtained from inheritance or for supplementing their income.

1900s
Female Entrepreneurs

The rise of feminism lead to female entrepreneurs becoming more accepted.

1919
The First Female Millionaire

Madame C.J. Walker becomes the first female millionaire by selling homemade hair care products to black women.

Choose Women Wednesday FAQs

What is the percent of female entrepreneurs vs male entrepreneurs?

47% of women started a business in recent years, compared to 44% of men.

How many female entrepreneurs are in the world?

Women entrepreneurs statistics show that 252 million entrepreneurs out of approximately 582 million in the world are female.

How many female entrepreneurs are there in the US?

Currently, there are more than 12.3 million female entrepreneurs in the United States.

How to Observe Choose Women Wednesday

  1. Shop at women-owned businesses

    Visit stores, restaurants, and websites owned by women and make conscious shopping choices. There are several women-owned businesses in nearly every field working hard to make it big.

  2. Support women

    Support women-owned businesses by shopping there and recommending them to your friends and family. Every new customer helps!

  3. Raise awareness

    Share information about Choose Women Wednesday and female entrepreneurship on your social media. Educate yourself and others so we can all live in a more egalitarian society.

5 Interesting Facts About Female Entrepreneurs

  1. Women are prone to start businesses

    Women are nearly one-third more likely than men to start a business out of necessity in most parts of the world.

  2. Unequal distribution

    Women from low to middle-income countries are more likely to enter early-stage entrepreneurship compared to those in higher-income countries.

  3. There are many of them

    Female entrepreneurs make up around one-third of all entrepreneurs around the world.

  4. Take Our Daughters To Work Day

    “Take Our Daughters To Work Day" was popularized in 1993 to support career exploration for girls.

  5. A true self-made woman

    Madame C.J. Walker, the first female millionaire, was born to former slaves, orphaned at seven, and built her empire out of nothing.

Why Choose Women Wednesday is Important

  1. It supports women

    The day encourages people to shop from women-owned businesses and promotes female entrepreneurs. It’s all about supporting women and alleviating poverty around the world.

  2. It aims to discontinue inequality

    Unfortunately, discrimination and inequality are still very real problems that women have to deal with when it comes to the corporate world. We can change this by going out there, doing our bit, and helping women-owned businesses thrive.

  3. It inspires young girls everywhere

    The day and the message it sends serve as an inspiration for little girls everywhere so they too can grow up to be the master of their own lives. It teaches people that entrepreneurship is not just a man’s field.

Choose Women Wednesday dates

Year Date Day
2022 November 30 Wednesday
2023 November 29 Wednesday
2024 December 4 Wednesday
2025 December 3 Wednesday
2026 December 2 Wednesday