According to a recent report by American Express, The 2013 State of Women-Owned Businesses, Ohio is #9 in the nation for the number of women-owned businesses in 2013—but, unfortunately, that rank represents a fall from #6 in 1997. Nationally, there are more than 8.6 million businesses owned by women. The bright spot in recent years with respect to privately held company job growth has been among women-owned