Women in Business 2025 Report

The Women in Business 2025 research highlights the broad array of external pressures prompting firms to improve the gender balance of their teams, and the important role it could play in improving firms’ capacity for growth. Consequently, or otherwise, businesses are also putting pressure on themselves to improve. Globally, just 0.2% of firms say they don’t have a gender equality strategy in place for at least one fundamental business process.

The findings in this Women in Business 2025 report are drawn from interviews conducted between July and September 2024. It should be noted that this year, the data was collected nine months after the previous data set, as opposed to the previous year, where data was collected on an annual basis.

Read the full report (well worth it) by Grant Thornton and discover drivers of diversity, even in 2025, the year of massive change for all organizations.

Meet Trailblazing Impact Investor and Serial Entrepreneur Kim Folsom

Kim Folsom, who I've known for several years, is the Founder, Chairperson and CEO of Founders First Capital Partners which provides access to the critical capital businesses need to unlock their economic potential.

Kim's firm has built a comprehensive ecosystem through its proprietary platform to empower underrepresented founders to become leading premium wage job creators within their communities.  She supports inclusive businesses including those led by women, people of color, Hispanic, LGBTQ+, military veterans, diverse teams and businesses located in low to moderate-income areas.

Founders First provides revenue-based funding, term loans and advisory services to service-based small businesses located outside of major capital markets.

To learn more, visit:  Founders First Capital Partners.

Side note:  Really like this article Kim wrote.

The Next Level For Women Entrepreneurs Is Always Within Our Grasp

To accelerate growth, surround yourself with confident, successful women who recognize the leader in you.

Marsha Ralls says, "remember that the next level is always within our grasp. Together, the trailblazers and upcoming women leaders will rise beyond us, knowing that new heights are indeed possible. They need only to reach for them, together."

After a decade building a community of empowered women entrepreneurs and business leaders, Marsha realized that life’s most profound lessons come masked as confirmations of what you already know inside but have not yet been able to put into words. Below, she finds those words.

Lessons learned.   

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Mahjong Creates Business and Networking Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs

By one estimate, mahjong is a $2.57 billion global industry and is expected to increase to $4.08 billion by 2032.  It's also becoming a major business and networking opportunity for women entrepreneurs.

From 2024 to 2025, mahjong events on digital event platform Evite spiked 46 percent year-over-year. “What started as a niche hobby has really become a full-on trend,” says Olivia Pollock, senior director of brand marketing and party data analyst at Evite. “It’s really started to pick up steam in a networking setting.”

Find out why here.

Women Are Turning Visions Into Ventures

The Center for Women Entrepreneurs at Texas Woman’s University, which provides a variety of financial programs, training and advising services for women-owned businesses, offered both virtually and in person – celebrated its 10-year anniversary with a Visions into Ventures milestone event, highlighting the successes of women business owners who have utilized its resources.  

Since 2018, the CWE has awarded over $2.3 million in grants to women entrepreneurs, Irby said. Grant-funded opportunities include the Veteran Woman Entrepreneur grant, the StartHER and Texas Rural Woman Entrepreneur grants, which are available to women-owned startups or small businesses. 

As one woman business owner says, "In the world in which we live right now, being a woman can be hard and finding community with women makes it worth it."

Enough said.

The Foundation of the Future: Artificial Intelligence

In a resurfaced video from his talk at SXSW, Mark Cuban made it clear that for Gen Z and aspiring entrepreneurs, AI is not just the future – it is the foundation. “If I were 16, 18, 20, or 21 starting today, I would spend every waking minute learning about AI,” he told the crowd. “Even while I’m sleeping, I would have podcasts playing about AI.”

Cuban sees AI as the most powerful opportunity to reshape business, creativity, and innovation. Simply understanding how to use AI, he said, can open the door to countless ventures from launching your own startup to consulting for others.