CLEVELAND, Oct. 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, in honor of
National Women in Small Business month, Key4Women®, a
community network dedicated to helping entrepreneurial and
professional women succeed in business, released the findings of a
new Key4Women® Confidence Poll. The poll surveyed 220
women business leaders to better understand their perspectives on
making high-level financial and strategic decisions for their
companies. The survey explored confidence and optimism, growth
goals, barriers to success and actions that help women in business
thrive.
Overall, women business leaders are highly confident about the
year ahead. Seventy-one percent of women surveyed are highly
optimistic they will achieve their goals in the next 12 months,
both personally and professionally. Among Millennial women,
confidence is even higher, with three-in-four (76 percent) feeling
highly optimistic about the future.
When it comes to factors that most influence women's positive
outlook, not surprisingly, the health of the U.S. economy ranked
number one among 64 percent of respondents. Business cash flow (57
percent) and the ability to hire good people (56 percent) came in
second and third, respectively. Surprisingly, tax reform, trade and
healthcare costs did not rank among the top influences.
Additionally, 95 percent of women business owners plan to grow
or expand their business activities within the next two years and
are "very" or "extremely" confident about their ability to succeed
in managing conflict (82 percent), conducting negotiations (81
percent), handling accounting and finances (80 percent) and
obtaining credit (77 percent).
Despite a high degree of optimism, more than four-in-10 women
business leaders (44 percent) "often" or "always" worry about
business failure. Coping mechanisms women leverage include rolling
up their sleeves and working harder (49 percent); focusing on
what's in their control (44 percent); talking to a colleague,
friend or family member (43 percent); and speaking with their
financial advisor (40 percent).
"Women business leaders continue to face barriers to success,"
said Barb Smith, Director of
Key4Women®. "Gender bias, unfortunately, is a problem
that most women (65 percent) have faced at some point in their
careers and for nearly three-in-10 women in business, gender bias
is among the top three challenges preventing them from accessing
the funding they need to scale."
Respondents perceive gender barriers in business are due to the
lack of equity in politics/government (59 percent), media
portrayals of women in business (46 percent), implicit male bias
(45 percent) and implicit female bias (35 percent). However,
of those who have experienced gender bias, eight-in-10 women
mitigate gender barriers in business by working harder (38
percent), networking with business women (29 percent) and joining
business organizations (24 percent). In fact, seventy-eight percent
report that networking is important for the success of their
business.
To celebrate Women in Small Business Month this October, KeyBank
invites the public to join Key4Women® in combatting
gender bias in business and celebrating the many faces of
#RealLifeBosses. Throughout October, share a photo of women in
leadership positions who have influenced your career using
#RealLifeBosses on social media and join KeyBank in showing the
world what #RealLifeBosses look like.
For more information about the Key4Women® program,
please visit
https://www.key.com/small-business/services/key4women/overview.jsp.
About Key4Women®
Since 2005, Key4Women® has supported
women leaders and entrepreneurs through advocacy, connections and
empowerment to help their careers and businesses thrive. The
Key4Women® program is uniquely focused on introducing women
business leaders to a network of likeminded professionals—both men
and women; providing customized financial wellness and business
development resources; and offering a platform to discuss
overarching trends women experience in the workplace.
About KeyCorp
KeyCorp's roots trace back 190 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in
Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the
nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with
assets of approximately $137.8
billion at June 30, 2018. Key
provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services
to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank
National Association through a network of approximately 1,200
branches and more than 1,500 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range
of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as
merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity,
syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected
industries throughout the United
States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For
more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member
FDIC.
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SOURCE KeyCorp