Female self-employment in the United States: an update to 2012

This article uses data from the Current Population Survey to examine changes in the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of self-employed women over the 1993–2012 period. The analysis suggests that these female workers, who represented about one-third of all self-employed individuals in 2012, have weathered recessions relatively well and made considerable strides in educational attainment and earnings. In addition, they have become more diverse in terms of race, family characteristics, and health status.