Throughout Fiscal Year 2009, the members of the National Women’s Business Council collaborated to promote policies and programs designed to support women’s entrepreneurship. The Council’s activities over the past year concentrated primarily on the following areas: communications and outreach, research, and policy engagement.
In reaching out to the women’s business community, policymakers and other target audiences, the Council held two town hall meetings, produced written and electronic communications, and participated in national and international events promoting women’s business ownership. In addition, the Council produced research reports, partnered in research events with other organizations and released a report on best practices in entrepreneurship education for women.
Members of the Council spoke on behalf of the Council, and Council staff participated in several intergovernmental and organizational meetings and met with hundreds of foreign visitors. For the sixth year, the Council was called on by the International Council for Small Business to judge and support the Best Paper Award for Women’s Entrepreneurship.
Based on research conducted during the year, numerous discussions with the women’s business community at conferences, meetings, and roundtables, and comment letters filed regarding health care and procurement policy, the National Women’s Business Council has developed policy recommendations surrounding issues such as access to capital, affordable health care, microenterprise, procurement, taxes, and workforce development.
This Annual Report summarizes these many activities, offers policy recommendations, and previews Council initiatives for the coming year. We invite public comment on our Annual Report, and on the research and other programmatic activities of the Council.
In Fiscal Year 2010, the National Women’s Business Council continued to focus on reaching out to the women business owner community through summits and town halls, while promoting “growth” as the main focus of its independent research.
The Council held summits in Washington, DC, Philadelphia, PA, and Denver, CO with local women business owners to hear their concerns and discuss issues of importance. Additionally, the Council conducted a town hall in Salem, MA, continuing to build upon town halls that have taken place all over the country in the past few years. These outreach efforts remain a pivotal part of the Council’s work and are discussed in detail below.On the research agenda, “growth” loomed as the main topic of discussion. The Council developed three separate studies that focused on different questions of importance on growing women-owned businesses, all of which are detailed in the following sections.
The past year also brought about several developments of interest for women business owners who have struggled with the recent, challenging economic environment:
- On September 27, 2010, President Obama signed the Small Business Jobs Act into law. The bill includes a series of new initiatives that will help small businesses. Just a few of the provisions include: an extension of the SBA Recovery Loan Provisions, an increase in the maximum loan size for SBA loans, establishment of a $30 billion Small Business Lending Fund, and eight new small business tax cuts
- In October 2010, the Women’s Procurement Rule, or the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program Rule, went into effect. The rule identifies 83 industries in which women-owned small businesses are under-represented or substantially under-represented in the federal contract marketplace. Under the rule, these additional industries will be now eligible to participate in federal contracts when the competition is restricted to women-owned businesses that are under-represented.
- On December 7, the Census Bureau released women-owned business data from their 2007 Survey of Business Owners. In 2007, there were 7.8 million women-owned businesses, accounting for 28.7% of all businesses nationwide. These businesses generated $1.2 trillion in receipts, which is about 3.9% of business receipts for all businesses nationwide. Of these women-owned businesses, 11.7% had paid employees. These employee firms employed 7.6 million people, paying them $217.6 billion. Another 88.3% of women-owned businesses had no paid employees.
A requirement that five percent of federal contracts go to women-owned small businesses became final in October 2010 and is slated to take effect in 2011. The Small Business Jobs Act allows the SBA to offer enhanced loan provisions through the end of 2010 and to strengthen the ability of small businesses to compete for federal contract opportunities. However, even with these developments, many challenges remain for women business owners.
The NWBC hosted several events in 2010 around the country in an effort to identify the most compelling issues affecting women business owners and entrepreneurs. The reports from each of these events are available on our website for review. For the purposes of summarizing, this annual report provides a synopsis of each document.
As independent advisors to the President, Congress, and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) is required to provide an annual report on its work and recommendations for optimizing the economic potential of women-owned small businesses.
The NWBC spent the past year conducting research and engaging in numerous discussions with the women’s business community to determine the best policy and program recommendations it could make. We invite you to read our entire report to better understand the landscape of women-owned businesses and the recommendations made.
The NWBC 2012 Annual Report offers a list of recommendations to help increase the economic potential of women entrepreneurs, one of the fastest-growing segments in the country.
The NWBC is required by law to submit annual recommendations on how the government can best aid women business owners. This year’s recommendations addressed topics that include:
- High growth businesses: The absence of a standard definition for “high growth” may be impeding the government’s ability to measure these types of businesses that have attracted wide attention.
- Federal procurement: Women business owners have consistently sought improved access to government contracting opportunities. The Senate recently took steps to help ease restrictions placed on the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program, but the government has room to improve in achieving its 5 percent set-aside goal for women-owned firms.
- Access to capital: Getting more money into the hands of women entrepreneurs continues to be the top priority for starting, and growing, businesses.
- Data and research: The government should support efforts to collect and annually disseminate a consistent, shared source of baseline data on women-owned businesses.
Today, the National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) releases its annual report focusing on economic issues of importance to women business owners. Each year NWBC delivers its annual report along with policy recommendations to the President, Congress, and the Small Business Administration.
This year’s annual report addresses 4 main areas to advance women entrepreneurs: Access to Capital, Access to Markets, Job Creation & Growth, and Data Collection.
“The National Women’s Business Council’s annual report researches cutting-edge issues, assimilates and articulates reliable data, and provides insights into our policy recommendations,” said NWBC Chair Carla Harris. “Our independent and innovative research lays the groundwork for policy makers, the private sector, and the women’s business community to act strategically towards advancing women business owners.”
The National Women’s Business Council continues to be a leading voice in advancing the women’s entrepreneurship agenda with a strong focus on providing key insights and solutions to increasing economic gains for women business owners.
We are pleased to announce the release of our 2014 Annual Report, “Building Bridges: Leveraging Research and Relationships to Impact the Business Climate for Women.” This report is a synthesis of our research and the implications of our findings for the women’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Our research confirms that the full economic participation of women and their success in business can significantly contribute to job growth in this country and is critical to the continued economic recovery. But, they also highlight the disparities and challenges women entrepreneurs face in their business pursuits.
In this report we have identified opportunities and intervention points along with policy recommendations for the Small Business Administration, Congress and the White House that we believe move the dial for women entrepreneurs from potential to success.
We are pleased to share the Council’s Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2015, “10 Million Strong – The Tipping Point for Women’s Entrepreneurship”
2015 was a transformational year for women entrepreneurs and their businesses. Women are starting 1,200 new businesses per day – they are inventing products, solving problems, creating jobs and supporting their communities.
The impact is undeniable and the growth is unprecedented, but we have a long way to go before reaching parity. Women continue to lack access to some of the most crucial assets, capital and markets, necessary to launch and grow their businesses. We are at a tipping point. It’s a time for celebration, but also a call-to-action to effectively sustain this momentum. Hence the title for this year’s report.
This Annual Report is a synthesis of the Council’s commitment to supporting women in business by producing best-in-class, actionable research on the most relevant issues facing aspiring and current women business owners and leaders, and identifying – through research and engagement – the unique barriers and challenges of women in pursuit of business. The Annual Report includes:
- Notable trends in women’s entrepreneurship
- Summary of the Council’s research portfolio
- Highlights from the Council’s engagement efforts and other accomplishments, as well as the contributions of other key stakeholders
- Recommendations to improve the business climate for women
The Annual Report was delivered to the SBA Administrator, the White House, and Members of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship and House Small Business Committees on December 16, 2015. In 2016, the Council plans to work strategically and collaboratively with key influencers, stakeholders, and policy makers to take action on these recommendations and continue research that illuminates the issues, challenges and opportunities for women entrepreneurs.
We are pleased to share Council’s Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2016, “United We Thrive: Sustaining Our Momentum in Public and Private Arenas”
This year marks another period of tremendous growth and opportunity for women business owners.
The 2012 Survey of Business Owners and Self-Employed Persons shows that women-owned businesses now comprise nearly 36 percent of the country’s businesses, generating over $1.4 trillion in receipts. The Council recognizes the significant contribution that women entrepreneurs have made towards ensuring that America’s economy is strong. As the Council looks toward 2017, the continued support of the White House, the U.S. Congress, and the U.S. Small Business Administration, and other stakeholders is essential to advancing women entrepreneurs’ entrances to new marketplaces, access to capital, and efforts to create jobs and scale up.
In this annual report, we present:
- A review of the Council’s research reports released this past fiscal year;
- Action taken by the Council, key stakeholders, and other parts of the entrepreneurial ecosystem that have impacted women business owners;
- Priorities and plans for Fiscal Year 2017, including new initiatives already in progress which will address the issues affecting women in business.
The Council looks forward to working with the full entrepreneurial ecosystem to grow its aggressive agenda in 2017, and to continuing to be a steadfast voice for women-owned businesses and women entrepreneurs.
We are pleased to share the Council’s Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2017, “Accelerating The Future Of Women Entrepreneurs – The Power of the Ecosystem”
This year, the National Women’s Business Council celebrates 29 years of advising the White House, Congress, and the U.S. Small Business Administration on issues of impact and importance to women business owners.
We have convened the best intellect and experience, to address challenges that faced women business owners and leaders in 1988 and that still face women in 2017, and we have executed the most ambitious research portfolio in the Council’s history. We have contributed important information on private markets, expanded the definition of necessity entrepreneurship for business origination, redefined an effective entrepreneurial ecosystem framework, and piloted a regional solutions lab model, helping women business owners succeed. As we look ahead to changes in industry, markets, and labor, we invite all champions of women’s business ownership to join us in accelerating the policy of tomorrow, meeting the needs of women entrepreneurs in the economy of the future.
In this annual report, we present:
- A review of the Council’s research findings and presentation of policy recommendations;
- A summary of actions taken by the Council, key stakeholders, and other parts of the entrepreneurial ecosystem that have impacted women business owners; and
- A look ahead to new research agenda that the Council will pursue for Fiscal Year 2018.