The 2017 "Women Entrepreneur Cities (WE Cities)" Index by Dell

The Dell Corporations just released their 2017 Women Entrepreneur Cities (WE Cities) Index which shows how 50 cities around the world rank on fostering women entrepreneurs.

"Globally, women's entrepreneurship rates are growing more than 10 percent each year. In fact, women are as likely or more likely than men to start businesses in many markets. However, financial, cultural and political barriers can limit the success of these businesses," said Karen Quintos, EVP and chief customer officer at Dell.

"By arming city leaders and policymakers with data-driven research and clear calls to action, we can collectively improve the landscape for high-potential women entrepreneurs, which in turn dramatically lifts a city's economic prospects — as what is good for women is good for the economy."

The cities were ranked on five important characteristics: capital, technology, talent, culture and markets. These pillars were organized into two groups — operating environment (capital, talent, markets) and enabling environment (culture, technology).

In the top 10 cities overall, six are in the U.S., two are in Europe, one in Asia, and only one is in Canada (which is Toronto, and the only Canadian city in the top 50)
Of the top 10 cities overall, only the Bay Area and New York ranks in the top 10 across all 5 pillars – which clearly demonstrates how much more work, advocacy, and attention to this issue is needed.

"Each of the cities on this list can learn from one another and encourage political change to attract and support women entrepreneurs. The resulting change will be felt at not just a city level, around the world as we develop an ecosystem where all entrepreneurs can thrive regardless of gender." - Elizabeth Gore, entrepreneur-in- residence at Dell

The 50 cities were ranked as follows: