New report finds it pays to have younger women on business teams

While numerous studies underscore the impact of women in business – from higher ROI to lower corporate risk -- a new study finds that younger women are a winning ingredient in entrepreneurship.

The report released by the nonprofit Girls With Impact finds that, although women make up just 22% of those participating in college venture competitions, they represent a far higher proportion of winning teams.

In fact, 51% of the ranking teams – those in first, second or third place – had a woman founder and 32% had a woman CEO.

“This is further proof that women can outperform – even in business,” said CEO Jennifer Openshaw. “But not without exposure to the risk that business and life demands.”

The report, Proving the Power of NextGen Women, was made possible by EY’s People Advisory Services, which helps companies transform.

“We need to do a 180 and re-think organizations to unleash the potential in these young women,” said George Brooks, Americas Leader for EY.

The report offers a host of recommendations including:

For educators & parents:
• Early exposure to provide business conditioning needed for college
• Turning after-school into practical hands-on opportunities that boost college and career success

Colleges: Better tracking of women’s participation in college venture competitions and encouraging greater participation.

Corporations:
• Investing in STEEM, not just STEM – STEM creates the doers but E for entrepreneurship will ensure the development of leaders with the mindset to navigate in the Future of Work
• Reach younger to support training of GenZ women and generate a higher recruiting ROI.                          
The research is based on six years of data involving 1,454 participants on 535 teams from three universities – UCLA, Rice University and the University of Connecticut.

“This is another nail in the business gender coffin,” says David Noble, professor at UConn. “Companies who fail to turn to the next generation will miss out – pure and simple.”

About:
Girls With Impact is the nation’s only tech-enabled entrepreneurship program for teen girls.  It’s 12-week online, real-time academy drives results in confidence, work readiness, and financial literacy. or .