Some credit Columbia founder Jim Rouse?s vision of a diverse community.
Others point to Howard County?s recent growth and progressive attitude for opening the doors.
Whatever the reason, female-owned businesses are thriving in Howard, which boasts the highest percent of firms owned by women in the state, according to a recent study by the Howard County Commission for Women.
“Women are a very powerful force in Howard County,” said Dawn Fisk Thomsen, chief executive officer of the YWCA of the Greater Baltimore Area and a member of the commission. “We have very strong numbers as far as business owners and entrepreneurs.”
The study details the economic status of women in the county, which may not be perfect, but shows Howard is a welcoming place for women in business.
Howard County Economic Development Authority CEO Dick Story said some of the reason must be Rouse?s commitment to diversity, a notion that has permeated the county.
Business Match Inc. founder Malynda Hawes Madzel agreed.
“The types of people who are attracted to Columbia are adventurers and risktakers, and it was founded before the women?s movement took hold,” said Madzel, whose Columbia-based company helps small-business owners sell their businesses.
This is the same community that supported interracial marriages in the late 1960s, an acceptance not alwaysfound in Baltimore City at that time, said Jennine Anderson, a partner at financial firm PCA Group.
“It?s the very nature of where we live,” Anderson said.
Shirley Collier, founder of technology company Optemax LLC, first worked in Baltimore City when she moved from Louisiana to Maryland 20 years ago. In the city, she ran into an “old boys network,” she said, which pushed her to open her business in Howard.
“I find Howard County to much more progressive and welcoming,” she said.
Several Howard businesswomen pointed to the county?s strong network among women that helped them succeed. Madzel meets regularly with a group of about seven younger female business owners, the second generation of businesswomen she calls her “youngins.”
“It amazes me how supportive women are together,” she said.
IF YOU GO
» What: Panel discussion of the Commission for Women?s report
» When: 7 p.m. July 24
» Where: Hawthorn Center, 6175 Sunny Spring, Columbia
To view a copy of the report, visit co.ho.md.us/CitizenServices/Partnerships/CommAdvBrds_CommissionWomen.htm
BY THE NUMBERS
DEMOGRAPHICS
» Between 1990 and 2005, Howard County?s population grew 43 percent, with 50.7 percent being women and 49.3 percent men.
» In 2005, 69.1 percent of the population was white, 15.5 percent black, 11 percent Asian and 4 percent Hispanic.
» The foreign-born population has grown 143 percent between 1990 and 2005 and represents 14.8 percent of the population.
EDUCATION
» In Howard, 95.8 percent of girls and 92.5 percent of boys graduate from high school.
» In Howard, 53 percent of women and 62.8 percent of men have a bachelor?s degree or higher.
EMPLOYMENT
» Howard?s median income is $88,600, the highest in the state.
» In Howard in 2005, the median salary for women was $48,156.
» The median salary for men was $71,931.
» The largest percent of men in the work force ? 29.1 percent ? earned $100,000 or more.
» The largest percent of women ? 22.2 percent ? earned $35,000 to $49,999.
» In 2002, 8,275 of the 24,957 businesses in Howard ? 33.2 percent ? were owned by women, the highest percentage in Maryland.
» In Maryland, 31 percent of businesses were owned by women.
POVERTY
» Howard?s child poverty rate for 2005 was 3.3 percent, compared with Maryland?s rate of 10.8 percent and the U.S. rate of 18.5 percent.
» In Howard, 4 percent of women and 2.7 percent of men live in poverty; 60.6 percent of residents living below the poverty level are women, and 39.4 percent are men.
» Of the 382 homeless adults served in Howard in 2005, 237 were women.
Source: Howard County Commission for Women report “Equality at Stake: The Economic Status of Women in Howard County”
