Contact:
Erin Hustings
202-253-8283
Erin.Hustings@sba.gov
WASHINGTON, D.C. – (May 22, 2024) – The National Women’s Business Council (NWBC), is pleased to announce it will be holding a virtual public meeting on Thursday, June 6, 2024, from 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM EDT.
“It has been a year of obstacles and opportunities for women entrepreneurs,” shared NWBC Chair Sima Ladjevardian. “We look forward to hearing from members of the public and experts about the ways women have navigated challenges to sustain a historic surge in new business starts during our upcoming public meeting.”
The public meeting will allow Council Members to hear from SBA leadership about successes in raising awareness of supports for women entrepreneurs. Council Members will also share updates on the work of the Council’s three policy subcommittees. The meeting will conclude with a research presentation from the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center and with Council Members responding to public comments pre-submitted by audience members.
The Council encourages public comment and feedback. Council Member Samantha Abrams will read and respond to a selection of questions or statements with the most relevance to the topic of women’s business enterprise. Responses can be submitted through the Eventbrite registration page or by emailing info@nwbc.gov.
To join the NWBC Public Meeting on June 6th, please register here.
###
About the National Women’s Business Council
The National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) is a non-partisan federal advisory committee created to serve as an independent source of advice and policy recommendations to the President, Congress, and the U.S. Small Business Administration on economic issues of importance to women business owners. To learn more, please visit: www.NWBC.gov.
Contact:
Jordan Chapman
202-941-6001
Jordan.Chapman@sba.gov
WASHINGTON, D.C. – (December 21, 2023) – The National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) is excited to share its 2023 Annual Report. NWBC serves as an independent source of advice and counsel to Congress, the White House, and the Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) on issues of importance to women entrepreneurs. In fulfillment of this mission, NWBC has delivered the report to these audiences and is pleased to make it available to the public.
“The Council has worked tirelessly over the past fiscal year to develop policy recommendations designed to better support women in business,” shared Tené Dolphin, Executive Director of NWBC. “Whether it is increasing access to capital and opportunity, amplifying women’s participation in innovation, or building a more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem, the Council is dedicated to advancing entrepreneurship for women across the country. We are delighted to share the 2023 Annual Report, a snapshot of this work.”
“NWBC uplifts America’s over 13 million women entrepreneurs by engaging in research, developing policy recommendations, leading dialogues, and connecting with stakeholders from all over the entrepreneurial landscape,” noted NWBC Chair Sima Ladjevardian. “It has been an honor to further progress for women in business this past year, and we cannot wait to build on these successes in the next year, starting with our January 2024 Public Meeting.”
To explore NWBC’s 2023 Annual Report and view reports from previous years, visit the Annual Reports page on www.nwbc.gov.
In order to delve more deeply into the contents of the 2023 Annual Report and lay the groundwork for collaboration for 2024, the Council will hold a hybrid public meeting from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM ET on January 23, 2024, at SBA Headquarters (409 3rd St SW, Washington, DC 20416). This meeting will also be live streamed via Zoom. Members of the public are invited to join the meeting to learn about the Council’s ongoing endeavors, understand how the Council moves in alignment with other women’s business organizations, and share their firsthand experiences when it comes to entrepreneurship.
Some of the key topics covered in the 2023 Annual Report that will likely be discussed during the January 2024 Public Meeting include:
- During the past year, NWBC commissioned two research projects: one focused on women’s entrepreneurship in high-yield and high-growth industries and the other focused on women’s entrepreneurship in rural, tribal, and other historically underserved communities, including urban underserved communities. Insights from these projects will undoubtedly inform future policy recommendations.
- This year, the Council focused a selection of recommendations on creating equitable access to diverse sources of business financing and increasing federal contracting opportunities and awards for women-owned small businesses.
- In 2023, the Council developed recommendations driven by a desire to foster equitable opportunity for women entrepreneurs in high-growth industries, bolster initiatives around apprenticeships, grants and the STEM pipeline, and promote and protect women’s STEM innovation.
- The Council aimed various policy recommendations at bridging service gaps in underserved communities, positioning more women-owned small businesses to compete, and strengthening coordination between grassroots and federal efforts throughout the past year.
- The Council highlights numerous entrepreneurial development resources each year and partners with key resource partners to enhance existing frameworks and design more just ones to accelerate economic opportunity for women.
To register for NWBC’s January 2024 Public Meeting, visit the Public Meetings page on www.nwbc.gov.
###
About the National Women’s Business Council
The National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) is a non-partisan federal advisory committee created to serve as an independent source of advice and counsel to the President, Congress, and the U.S. Small Business Administration on economic issues of importance to women business owners. To learn more, please visit: www.NWBC.gov.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Temren Wroge
202-738-3523
Temren.Wroge@sba.gov
WASHINGTON, D.C., December 21, 2018 – The National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) has submitted its 2018 Annual Report to the President, the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, the House Committee on Small Business, and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration. This Report commemorates NWBC’s 30th anniversary year and provides the findings, conclusions, and policy recommendations of the Council. NWBC Chair Liz Sara also provides her vision for guiding the Council into a new era, where it will build on past and current achievements and ensure its advocacy loses neither momentum nor impact. This year, there are an estimated 12.3 million women-owned firms accounting for 40% of all businesses in the United States. In the 2018 Annual Report, NWBC reaffirms its commitment to providing a platform to expand and improve opportunities for women business owners and their enterprises. Please click here to read the 2018 Annual Report.
###
About National Women’s Business Council
The National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) is a nonpartisan federal advisory council established to serve as an independent source of advice and policy recommendations to the President, the Congress, and the Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration on issues related to women’s business enterprise. The Council is comprised of eight small business owners from across the country, six representatives of national women’s business organizations, and one Chairperson, Liz Sara, who was recently appointed by President Donald J. Trump in August 2018. To learn more about NWBC, visit www.nwbc.gov.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Temren Wroge
202-738-3523
Temren.Wroge@sba.gov
Last week, in recognition of National Women’s History Month, the National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) hosted a Small Business Roundtable in Pella, Iowa with Senator Joni Ernst, NWBC Chair Liz Sara, Council member Barbara Kniff-McCulla, Owner of KLK Construction, and over fifteen local women business owners.
The roundtable began with NWBC Chair Sara welcoming Senator Ernst and the fifteen women business owners, representing various business sectors from construction and manufacturing to an online floral business and a brewery owner. NWBC was honored to have Senator Ernst join the conversation, where she discussed her work on the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship and outlined her legislative priorities including increasing sole source contracting opportunities and paid family leave. Senator Ernst also touched on workforce training efforts and opportunity zones.
The highlight of the afternoon was a fireside chat between Senator Ernst and Council member Kniff-McCulla. They discussed topics ranging from broadband access to digital commerce and infrastructure. Kniff-McCulla remarked on the importance of the roundtable “for our rural community of Pella, to have a variety of women’s business owners sitting around the table, being able to tell their stories, and we appreciated Senator Ernst being a part of this.”
The discussion developed into introductions of the various small business owners and representatives from the Small Business Administration (SBA), the SBA’s Office of Advocacy, the National Association of Women Business Owners (a representative of which also serves on the Council), Women’s Business Centers, and Small Business Development Centers. It was an incredible collection of women, all with unique stories of their own. The roundtable conversation also explored topics such as access to capital and markets, crowdfunding, technology, and infrastructure.
With an estimated 12.3 million women-owned firms, 89,000 of which are located in Iowa, NWBC recognizes the unique contributions that women-owned businesses make to the economy and remains committed to continuing to advocate for a platform to expand and improve opportunities for women business owners and their enterprises. This Women’s History Month, NWBC was intent on highlighting and exploring the successes and opportunities that rural women entrepreneurs.
NWBC will be releasing a research report on rural women’s entrepreneurship in May of 2019. Preliminarily, the report finds that despite the declining rate of entrepreneurship in rural areas, there remains great opportunities for women’s entrepreneurship. The Council looks forward to highlighting and sharing those successes, and making accompanying policy recommendations to the President, the Congress, and the SBA.
###
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Temren Wroge
202-738-3523
Temren.Wroge@sba.gov
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 16, 2019 — The National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) announces its new Council members.
“I’m pleased to welcome the many accomplished women business owners and several amazing leaders of national women’s organizations to the NWBC,” said Liz Sara, NWBC Chair. “We truly represent a diverse group of companies, industries and geographies as we seek to address the challenges we face in starting and growing companies. The many new voices on our Council, like the Vinetta Project’s Founder and CEO, will play an important role in communicating the needs and challenges of female founders as we formulate our recommendations to policymakers later this year. Collectively, our Council is ready to tackle action-based results. We are entrepreneurs at heart and do-ers in practice.”
For the past 30 years, the Council has served as the federal government’s only independent voice for women entrepreneurs, paving the way for increased growth in opportunity for women’s business enterprise. Today, women-owned firms comprise an estimated 40 percent of the country’s businesses, with a growth rate nearly five times faster than all other privately held businesses over the last 10 years. Without constant vigilance and continued advocacy, these gains would not have been possible. NWBC works to ensure that the voices of women entrepreneurs are heard and amplified, and continues to promote policies that provide opportunities for women business owners.
As a new Council takes shape, NWBC looks to focus its advocacy efforts on Women in STEM, Rural Women’s Entrepreneurship, and Access to Capital and Opportunity. NWBC remains committed to advocating for women in business and expanding opportunities for women business owners and their enterprises.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Temren Wroge
202-738-3523
Temren.Wroge@sba.gov
The National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) announces its first public meeting with its newly-installed Council members on Friday, May 17, 2019, from 9:30AM to 12:30PM EST at the Women Presidents’ Organization Headquarters in New York, New York.
At this meeting, the new Council will share its vision and priorities for the remainder of the fiscal year. Each of the Council’s three subcommittees: Rural Women’s Entrepreneurship, Women in S.T.E.M., and Access to Capital & Opportunity will present their current priorities and initiatives to the full body and the public. The Council’s Small Business Roundtable Series will also be announced.
The meeting is open to the public; however, advance notice of attendance is requested. To RSVP or submit a written comment, the general public should email Ashley Judah at Ashley.Judah@sba.gov with subject line – “Response for 5/17/19 Public Meeting.” The agenda will allow for 20 minutes of public statements. This time will be awarded in 4-minute increments to the first 5 people who confirm attendance and request to speak. All other submitted statements will be included in the meeting record.
A conference line will also be available for those unable to attend the meeting in person. Please call 1-208-391-5817 at the aforementioned event time. When prompted, enter conference ID number: 93326369. For more information, please visit the NWBC website at www.nwbc.gov or call 202-205-3850.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Temren Wroge
202-738-3523
Temren.Wroge@sba.gov
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 8, 2019 – The National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) has released the ‘Rural Women Entrepreneurs: Challenges and Opportunities’ report which offers a profile of rural women entrepreneurs and will serve as the springboard for the work and policy considerations of the Council.
“By understanding the exclusive challenges facing women entrepreneurs in rural communities, NWBC is in a better position to advocate for programs and policies that will help to reduce or eliminate those hurdles,” says Liz Sara, NWBC Chair. “Since entrepreneurship is central to rural job creation and economic growth, NWBC has made rural entrepreneurship a priority for this year”.
Please click here to read the full report.
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 16, 2019 – The National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) announces its first public meeting with its newly-installed Council members on Friday, May 17, 2019, from 9:30AM to 12:30PM EST at The Women Presidents’ Organization Headquarters in New York, NY.
At this meeting, the new Council will share its vision and priorities for the remainder of the fiscal year. Each of the Council’s three subcommittees: Rural Women’s Entrepreneurship, Women in S.T.E.M., and Access to Capital & Opportunity will present their current priorities and initiatives to the full body and the public. The Council’s Small Business Roundtable Series will also be announced.
The meeting is open to the public; however, advance notice of attendance is requested. To RSVP or submit a written comment, the general public should email Ashley Judah at Ashley.Judah@sba.gov with subject line – “Response for 5/17/19 Public Meeting.” The agenda will allow for 20 minutes of public statements. This time will be awarded in 4-minute increments to the first 5 people who confirm attendance and request to speak. All other submitted statements will be included in the meeting record.
A conference line will also be available for those unable to attend the meeting in person. Please call 1-208-391-5817 at the aforementioned event time. When prompted, enter conference ID number: 93326369. For more information, please visit the NWBC website at www.nwbc.gov or call 202-205-3850.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Temren Wroge
202-738-3523
Temren.Wroge@sba.gov
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 12, 2019 – The National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) is hosting a roundtable in Baltimore, MD on June 25, 2019, from 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM EST as part of its ‘Women in Small Business Roundtable Series’. The Council seeks to better understand the specific challenges and opportunities for women’s entrepreneurship in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S.T.E.M).
The June 25th roundtable will convene local women business owners in S.T.E.M to share their perspective on the educational pipeline, barriers to accessing capital, and workforce recruitment issues. Hosting this discussion in Baltimore provides NWBC with the opportunity to collaborate with the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council’s National Conference.
The conversation will also include educators, investors, and government officials. NWBC Chair Liz Sara, Council Members Shelonda Stokes, Monica Stynchula, Nicole Cober, Pam Prince-Eason and Vanessa Dawson will be in attendance.
Women business owners have a tremendous impact on the U.S. economy; however, they continue to be underrepresented in the S.T.E.M fields. In fact, while women constitute 47% of the overall workforce, they make up just 28% of the science and engineering workforce.
“NWBC’s ‘Profile of Millennial Women: The Future of Entrepreneurship in America’ found that millennial women are the most likely generation to hold a degree in S.T.E.M. NWBC wants to encourage women in these fields with innovative and scalable ideas to start and grow their business, increase their receipts, and create jobs.” – NWBC Chair Liz Sara