One could argue that a key legacy of Gloria Steinem is the way in which she redefined the roles women play in society, including how women business owners used their skills and enterprises to contribute to the greater good of the communities where they live. Gloria Steinem was herself a social entrepreneur , defined as someone that creates businesses to solve social, environmental, cultural or economic problems. Social entrepreneurs are increasingly defining the role that business can play in building more resilient communities.

The mission of social entrepreneurs can vary greatly, but generally a social start up founder’s ambition for growth, increased volume and market expansion is at least somewhat mitigated by an elevated interest in attention to social responsibility, environmental values and contributions to the resiliency or quality of life in local communities. And although they may not be as singly focused on the bottom line, those businesses aim to be self-sustaining, rather than relying upon government grants or donations. Generally, at least 50% of the profits are reinvested in a clearly defined mission and social start-ups are more likely to be connected to local conditions, norms and culture, so rural social entrepreneurs are likely to be quite different than those in urban areas. And women rural entrepreneurs are emerging as a particularly interesting dimension of rural entrepreneurship.

As Caroline Castrillion highlighted in her earlier Forbes piece, women-owned businesses account for more than 40% of all U.S. firms (15.7 million businesses), according to Wells Fargo’s 2026 report on The Impact of Women-Owned Businesses. The trend is particularly strong among younger women and women of color. African American and Asian American women are driving a significant share of new business formation and are more likely than their male counterparts to launch companies. Yet, Wells Fargo data indicate only 4.6% of total business revenue is derived from women-owned start ups given significant differences in business size. Another signal they are smaller scale? Only 9% of women-owned businesses have employees , compared with nearly 20% of men-owned firms , limiting their ability to expand.

This may leave one curious as to what drives women to start up their own business? Most frequently, surveys cite that women want to be their own boss or work according to their own schedule, but many have more traditional aims to build a financial asset or increase their income. And social entrepreneurship adds yet another dimension: increasingly entrepreneurs want to better the places where they live or raise their families.

When I explored the Future of Rural Work , I noted that rural workers who felt their talent was not fully leveraged by opportunities they saw in the areas where they lived may feel compelled to create their own destiny. And, given the connections that keep them in rural spaces (family, heritage, love for natural resources), it is likely rural women entrepreneurs will be connected to a social mission.

Gloria Steinem’s Legacy is Alive and Well in Rural America

There has long been a debate of whether startups are pushed into creating businesses because of a lack of other opportunities, or pulled into the marketplace as they see untapped business opportunities. The reality is both drivers are likely drivers in rural America. In a rural context, Conroy and Low found that female entrepreneurs rise out of necessity in communities lacking work or economic prosperity, while in higher-income rural counties, opportunity is more likely to shape business startups. In either case, the early work of Steinem to assure women had access to credit, educational and technical trade skill opportunities and autonomy to contribute more fully in the economy lowered the significant barriers faced by rural women aspiring to start their own enterprise.

One particular sector that commonly sees higher female participation and innovation is the food industry. Consumer interest in local foods, cottage food laws that lower some regulatory barriers, a burgeoning food truck sector and the culinary aspirations of home cooks and bakers have all stoked a vibrant food community. For socially-minded start ups, food businesses can be borne out of necessity (food start ups can often be initiated with minimal capital and provide jobs for a uniquely skilled workforce) or opportunity (a lack of unique food offerings or healthful choices in your hometown). So, women social entrepreneurs are emerging in a variety of places in all different sizes and with diverse missions uniquely connected to their communities.

Community Support for Women Entrepreneurs

Alongside these entrepreneurs, there are community initiatives to support their efforts, including a growing network of shared kitchens, offering a way to enter the market without the full investment in a food production facility. The Network for Incubators and Community Kitchens (NICK) is a loosely coordinated collaborative of such kitchen owners that has grown significantly over the last decade. To better serve and coordinate this growing niche, the Food Corridor , a business support platform that is women-owned, offers technical assistance and sector research including a 2026 report on the state of the industry and regularly hosts Shared Kitchen Summits, including one coming up in Providence, Rhode Island this fall.

What would make Gloria Steinem proud is the prevalence of women in the start up community and how they themselves are nurturing a culture of ingenuity.Beyond the food sector, there are Small Business Development Center supported by the US Small Business and Economic Development Administrations sprinkled across US communities to nurture those with a clever business idea, mission-minded ambition and perspective of how they can bring opportunity to their communities. And in my home state, StartUp Colorado has a Rural Women in Entrepreneurship community of practice.