When it comes to having a climate supportive of women-owned businesses, the Triad ranks right in the middle.

According to a study of the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas by BizJournals, an online affiliate of this newspaper, the Greensboro-High Point Metropolitan Statistical Area ranked as the 46th best market for women-owned businesses and women business leaders. Raleigh ranked as the 12th best market for women and Charlotte ranked 40th.

The study's methodology was weighted to score higher those metropolitan areas "where a substantial number of well-educated, well-paid women hold responsible positions in business." The study looked at 14 different factors (see chart, page 15) ranging from the number of women-owned businesses per 10,000 residents to the number of women with advanced degrees. Greensboro ranked high in average sales per woman-owned business (8th) and average number of employees per woman-owned business (10th), but did poorly in percentage of managerial and professional jobs held by women (80th) and women with advanced degrees (89th). The Winston-Salem metro area, which the federal government officially separated from Greensboro in 2003, was not included in the study because it is not one of the 100 largest metro areas in the country. Similarly, Chapel Hill and Durham are not reflected in Raleigh's ranking.

Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point is still considered to be a combined statistical area by the federal government, but the study looked at government-defined metro areas rather than combined-statistical areas because many of the demographics used in the rankings are not available for combined statistical areas.

Education Not the Only Factor

Some think the education factor was one of Greensboro's big weaknesses, especially when compared with Raleigh. In Greensboro, 25 percent of women have bachelor's degrees, compared with 40.3 percent in Raleigh, for example.

While education may have hurt Greensboro's ranking some, many local women feel that the biggest factor hurting the area is the exclusion of Winston-Salem from the study. "It just ignores reality because you have people commuting back and forth between the areas," says Denise Gunter, the managing partner of the Winston-Salem office of the law firm, Nelson Mullins. "If you're looking at women business leaders in the area, you have to look at all three cities. I think this gives a limited view." Others agree, the region may have fared better if Winston-Salem had been included in the survey.

For example, women are generally highly represented in the life sciences, and Winston-Salem has more life science and biotechnology companies, says Betsy Gatewood, director of the office of entrepreneurship and liberal arts at Wake Forest University. Not including Winston-Salem also excludes all the women leaders at Wake Forest's medical school and in companies like BB&T, Hanesbrands, Krispy Kreme and Reynolds American, which is one of only 12 Fortune 500 companies nationally that is led by a woman.

Strength in Numbers

While not having Winston-Salem included in the sample may have hurt the region's ranking, women business owners and leaders generally agree that the Triad is a great place to be, and they say they feel supported. In fact, the support network—especially the network of women for women—is one of the region's greatest strengths, they say.

Although the local chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners dissolved earlier this year, women interviewed for this article say that perhaps the Triad's biggest strength is the number of support groups like the American Business Women's Association, the Professional Women's Network, and various industry-centered organizations.

"There are opportunities and resources here in the Triad for women to connect with other women," Gunter says. "I can't think of a time I encountered females in the Triad who weren't willing to help each other." Inside and outside the formal support groups, women in the Triad generally seem willing to help each other out, serving as mentors even to potential competitors and referring possible clients to other women-owned businesses.

Adrienne Cregar Jandler, President of Atlantic Webworks in Greensboro, says that when she began her company, she sought the advice of another woman who owned a similar business. Today, she does the same thing for other startup Web firms that seek her help. And she has formed a network of other women-owned businesses with which she shares ideas and clients.

Local women think that, with or without Winston-Salem, the Triad will probably improve in similar rankings in the future as the number of women-owned businesses continues to grow and existing businesses become stronger. They think the region may have fallen behind other cities because its economy has long been tied to traditionally male-dominated industries like textiles, furniture, manufacturing, and tobacco. "I think you probably have vestiges and remnants of the old economic factors that shape the Triad...but even there I still frequently see women leaders," Gunter says, citing Susan Ivey, the chairwoman of Reynolds American, as one example.

As the Triad economy shifts, they say, there will be even more opportunities for women to succeed either in their own businesses or in other companies. "The fact that our economy is changing—and change provides opportunity and breaks down barriers—is creating a welcoming environment for women," Gatewood says.