The social network is also marking International Women’s Day with Female Founders events

39 percent of people identifying as owners or managers of small businesses on the social platform are women.

by David Cohen for AdWeek

Facebook is marking International Women’s Day March 8 with initiatives including new research about women in business on the social network and several Female Founders events across the U.S.

The top five countries that celebrated International Women’s Day on Facebook last year were the U.S., Brazil, Mexico, India and Argentina.

Facebook said events related to International Women’s Day rose 30 percent in 2018 compared with 2017, and it was the single-largest day for women-related events on the social network last year.

Over 81 percent of women-owned small businesses on Facebook said they built their businesses by using its platform, according to the social network, and 70 percent of female business owners serve as mentors to other women.

Facebook teamed up with the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development on a study of millions of women in 95 countries, and its findings included:

  • 39 percent of people who identified as owners or managers of small businesses on Facebook were women.
  • 81 percent of small businesses owned by women said social media was beneficial to their businesses, with women ranking it higher than men did in 37 of the countries studied.
  • 67 percent of female business owners said that they have role models, and 70 percent of female business owners’ mentors are other women
However, the results were not all favorable for women: In nearly every country that was part of the study, women entrepreneurs said they started their businesses with personal savings, and fewer than one of every five currently have access to credit or a bank loan.