Workshop reveals growing role for women in ecommerce

A survey conducted at the "Women in eCommerce" workshop, sponsored by FitForCommerce and Internet Retailer magazine, found that 86 percent of women in attendance faced gender issues at work.

The "Women in eCommerce" workshop - the first workshop of its kind - was held earlier this month with the aim of sharing resources and guidance between women in the electronic commerce industry.

The survey also found that an additional 79 percent of the women felt that work-life balance is viewed as a woman's issue. Another 71 percent said that they do not believe their companies make any effort to address diversity problems in the workplace.

Susan Aplin, CEO of the eco-friendly home-decor company Bambeco, told those in attendance that because women are reported to make 85 percent of household expenditures, "it makes good business sense to have women on your work team."

As women move into the electronic commerce industry, their share in the business world is expecting to continue to grow. Statistics from the workplace nonprofit firm Catalyst found that women comprise 46.3 percent of the U.S. labour force, but make up only 2.5 percent of Fortune 500 company CEOs.