Women in franchising: They can do it!

Posted on September 21, 2010 by Franchise Gator Admin

While they have gained the right to vote, run for office and get time off for maternity leave, there is one sector of society where women have fallen behind their male counterparts - franchising.

According to many studies over the past decade, women made up only a small part of the total number of franchisees, despite representing approximately half the population. The latest study, conducted by the International Franchise Association in 2005, found that women who solely owned and operated a franchise made up only 25 percent of the total. The "Franchise Ownership by Gender" found that men made up 58 percent and that joint ownership accounted for 17 percent of the total franchises.

“There are three main factors contributing to the lack of women ... franchise owners: the functional background required of owning and operating a restaurant franchise; difficulty in securing the needed financing and the psychological factors that may serve as a barrier from pursuing a franchise path,” said Kim Mathe in an interview with Society for Industrial & Organizational Psychology.

Despite the fact that women make up only about a quarter of franchisees, they can be a great way for them to prove that they are just as capable as men. Oftentimes a women's touch can be just what a franchise needs to be successful.