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(NaturalNews) Women entrepreneurs are increasing at an extraordinary rate, continuing to enter fields traditionally dominated by men. Women owned firms now account for nearly 40 percent of U.S. businesses, although only 3% of these businesses gross a million or more in annual revenues. Women's inspiration and creativity are abundant, while start up financing remains a challenging obstacle. Here is a list of fast facts recently published by the National Women's Council that contains the most up to date information currently available on privately held women owned businesses in the U.S.

* The number of women-owned businesses continues to grow at twice the rate of all U.S. firms, and their economic influence is increasing at speeds exceeding the national average.

* Growth rates are higher than average among women-owned firms with $1 million or more in sales and 100 or more employees, yet most women-owned firms are very small, with no more than 10 employees.

* Women-owned firms continue to face challenges, including access to capital, access to markets and access to training and technical assistance.

* In 2004, women accounted for more than 51 percent of the United States population and 47 percent of the American labor force.

* As of 2006, there were an estimated 10.4 million privately-held businesses in which a woman or women owned at least 50 percent of the company. Among them, 7.7 million were majority-owned.

* Between 1997 and 2002, women-owned firms increased their employment by 70,000, whereas firms owned by men lost 1 million employees.

* Between 1997 and 2002, an average of 424 new women-owned firms were started every day, translating into nearly 775,000 start-ups per year and accounting for 55 percent of new firm start-ups.

* Between 1997 and 2002, women-owned firms increased by 19.8 percent and women owned employer firms (firms with one or more paid employees other than the owner) increased by 8.3 percent.

* Women-owned businesses exhibited the same tenacity and survival rates as the average U.S. firms, with more than two-thirds (68.5%) of women-owned employer business locations in existence in 1997 still in operation four years later. Among all employer establishments, 69.8 percent remained in business in 2001.

* Between 1997 and 2001, women-owned employer establishments proved to be more resilient than employer firms overall during the period, with a 9.3 percent decline in employment among those firms in business in 1997 –- compared to a 10.9 percent decline among all establishments.

* An estimated $546 billion is spent annually on salaries and benefits by women-owned businesses.

* The workforces of women-owned firms show more gender equity. Women business owners overall employ a roughly balanced workforce (52% women, 48% men), while men business owners employ 38 percent women and 62 percent men, on average.

* While women-owned family businesses are somewhat smaller in size compared with the average annual revenues of their male-owned counterparts ($26.4 million vs. 30.4 million), they generate their sales with fewer median employees, employing 26 individuals compared with 50 at male-owned family firms. This means that female-owned family businesses are 1.7 times more productive than male-owned family firms.

Additional sources:

Report from Center for Women's Leadership at Babson College

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