- Congress should develop and provide a uniform definition for a microbusiness. Additionally, Congress and SBA should consider further expansion of debt relief options for certain 7(a), 504, and microloan borrowers, and continue prioritizing the needs of economically disadvantaged micro- and small business borrowers in industries with significant participation by women, particularly those severely impacted by pandemic-related global supply chain issues or other major global economic disruptions.
- The Biden-Harris Administration’s implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) should continue to emphasize and prioritize women and women of color to ensure fair access to actual contracting awards through focused outreach, education, and data collection.
- NWBC should commission research focusing on both high yield (STEM) and high growth industries (currently AEC), as well as industries with an overrepresentation of women but with undervaluation (healthcare).
- Congress should ensure women entrepreneurs and workers re-entering the labor force or starting a business have fair access to training and targeted assistance opportunities (STEM RESTART Act). This training and assistance could occur as part of a collaboration between academia, entrepreneurial ecosystem builders, and small businesses.
- The White House should develop a plan of action which would further empower SBA to improve and expand entrepreneurial development resources and affordable financing for the hardest hit childcare and care economy businesses, particularly in rural, rural/tribal, and other underserved communities.
- NWBC should conduct a landscape analysis in fiscal year 2023 to better assess the effectiveness of current entrepreneurial ecosystems, technical assistance capacity, local governance issues, and the “brain drain” impacting rural WOSB/EDWOSB growth. The study should also identify effective program models to improve engagement of women entrepreneurs in tribal and immigrant communities.
- SBA should continue monitoring Community Navigators Hub and Spoke organizations to ensure active outreach to, and engagement of, women entrepreneurs and institute robust benchmarks and metrics for these efforts.