The StartUp Blog at PartnerUp

I was perusing through the Wall Street Journal’s business blog Independent Street last Friday, and I came across a post about women business owners. The post by Wendy Bounds was based off some interesting statistics about female small business owners and their use of the Web.

A survey released today from Microsoft Live Small Business finds that 61 percent of female respondents who were small-business owners say they do no online marketing, and nearly 40 percent say they don’t have a Web site.

Seriously? That’s a bit shocking. Not that I’m questioning Microsoft or the Wall Street Journal or anything, but I have a hard time believing that women don’t understand the immense opportunity that the Web presents, particularly where online marketing is concerned.

The Wall Street Journal offers two possible explanations.

Are women uncomfortable navigating the fast-changing world of online marketing? Or do women simply not have time because they are so busy struggling to balance a busy life?

Though it’s possible that some women are uncomfortable with online marking, to me it’s too simplistic and a bit of a cop out. I’ve found that both women and men, even if they aren’t incredibly Web-savvy, are open to learning about using the Web to better their businesses. And to say that women aren’t able to make time for the Web because they are busy trying to balance their busy lives also doesn’t hold up for me. Everyone’s busy, and women are more than capable of juggling.

It’s true that Microsoft, which surveyed 600 women at its Vision to Venture conference series, listed “the need for better work-life balance” as one of the top four reasons women start businesses, but so were “financial opportunity,” “the ability to be one’s own boss,” and “bringing to life a great business idea”—none of which demonstrates any direct correlation to non-use of the Web. The bottom line is that women, like men, want to see their businesses succeed. And both sexes are aware that the Web can vastly improve their chances of making that happen.

So what’s the deal?

I’d like to say that I have some brilliant answer that will shed some light and make everything clearer, but I don’t. Maybe it has something to do with the kinds of businesses women are starting. But what do I know? So I’m asking you. Are female small business owners really just anti-Web? Or is there something else going on here?