America is sitting on a secret weapon that will take genrations for competing nations like China and India to match, women entrepreneurs. Under-utilized as they are, American women are poised to capture a large percentage of a growing US economy with proper investment in education.
Consider the competition. In both China and India girls simply aren't valued as much as boys. It's a hard cold fact. In China, according to numerous studies and cited here from the Christian Science Monitor, for ever 118 boys born, only 100 girls are recorded. 1 The situation is just as bad in India with 836 girs being born for every 1000 boys. 2 Sadly, and evidence of skewed priorities, low cost ultrasound equipment can be found in villages of both nations where clean water is still not available.
Although similar practices have been recorded in some immigrant populations in the US, the situation here is significantly better for females.
The woman entrepreneur is a largely untapped but growing asset in the world. For China and India, the base for this asset is dwindling. The US must recognize and capitalize on this situation and make entrepreneurial education a priority at all levels of education and facilitate inclusion of this group. Imagine doubling our entrepreneurial talent base while our competitors squander theirs.
Full disclosure: the author with four daughters has a distinct prejudice.
1. http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2011/0527/Rise-of-missing-girls-in-India-and-China
2. http://phys.org/news/2011-05-millions-girls-lost-abortion-india.html
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