Fiscal Year 2004 continued the active and inclusive tone set over the past two years, with the publication of numerous research reports, Issues in Brief, and Fact Sheets; the hosting of several well-attended issue discussion events; broad communication via the Council’s Web site and the issuance of press releases and an electronic newsletter; and activism in the public policy arena.

This Annual Report summarizes these myriad activities, and includes a brief summary with links to other publications related to the state of women’s entrepreneurship.

Fiscal Year 2004 saw the publication of four primary research reports conducted with support and direction from the Council, 11 Issue in Brief publications summarizing other important information related to women’s entrepreneurship, and five Fact Sheets making key information about trends in women’s entrepreneurship more accessible and digestible to the women’s business community and to public policy makers. They are summarized in the next section of this report.

In addition to holding two Council meetings and several conference calls, the National Women’s Business Council hosted two issue-focused discussion events, participated in the organization and conduct of a regional women’s economic summit with the Department of Labor and the Small Business Administration, and participated as co-organizers in three expert roundtable discussions. These events are likewise summarized in this report.

The Council continued to expand its communications outreach activities, to better inform the women’s business community of important issues and events and to engage women business owners in policy issue discussions. These activities included: the publication of a Resource Card for women business owners; the distribution of a bi-monthly electronic newsletter, Engage!, featuring news about Council activities and the activities of other women’s business organizations; and the hosting of a monthly issues conference call, the Women’s Business Connection, which features subject matter experts discussing information of value to the women’s business community.

This report also contains a section summarizing key research and other publications related to women’s entrepreneurship published by other organizations, including links to the publications or to the organizations that published them. It is hoped that the synopsis of these studies will provide further value for our audiences, and will better inform the debate and discussion of important issues facing women business owners and their enterprises.