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Blog Category: Women-owned businesses

Acting Deputy Secretary Blank Speaks at U.S. Chamber on Impact of Women in Business on the Economy

Acting Deputy Secretary Rebecca Blank Addresses the CrowdU.S. Commerce Acting Deputy Secretary Rebecca Blank discussed women in business at a forum today at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Blank highlighted key findings from a recent Commerce Department report on “Women-Owned Businesses in the 21st Century,” produced by the department’s Economics and Statistics Administration, and addressed the prospects and opportunities of starting a business in today’s economy.  

The Women in Business Forum included a series of remarks and panels with successful women from the public and private sectors. Learn more about the Commerce Department report on women-owned businesses

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Efforts to Support American Women Highlighted in Commerce and White House Reports

Sec. Locke Meets with Economic Team This week the National Economic Council released a report on the impact of the recession on women and how the Obama administration’s economic policies benefit American women. Some of these policies include a tax credit for college for working families, expanded and increased student aid, and more manageable loan repayment so women can get the education they need to succeed. The report lays out the economic landscape facing women today and details some of the many ways the administration is committed to making sure the government is working for all Americans, especially American women.

The Commerce Department’s Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA) further explored the state of American women and Women-Owned Businesses in the 21st Century in a report issued earlier this month for the White House Council on Women and Girls.  According to the report, women-owned businesses are steadily expanding and account for $1.2 trillion in economic output. Yet they continue to lag behind other companies in several key indicators.

To help reverse this trend, the Obama administration has invested in women’s education and expanded the capital available for women to start a business. The White House has already given out more than 12,000 Small Business Administration Recovery Act loans totaling more than $3 billion to women-owned small businesses.

Learn more about what the administration is doing on behalf of women and the economy and women-owned businesses, or read the reports.

Commerce Department Releases Report On Women-Owned Businesses in the 21st Century

Six women working in various careers

Commerce's Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA) today released a report on Women-Owned Businesses in the 21st Century that analyzes the changing role of women-owned businesses in the U.S. economy.  The report, prepared at the request of the White House Council on Women and Girls and released today during a White House Entrepreneurship Conference, looks at trends in women-owned businesses from the late 1990s through 2007, explores the characteristics of businesses owned by women as compared to those owned by men, and discusses potential reasons why these firms look different.

“Here’s the good news: women-owned businesses are steadily expanding and now account for $1.2 trillion in economic output,” said Commerce Department Under Secretary for Economic Affairs Rebecca Blank.  “Considering the recent economic environment, this growth shows the important potential of women-owned businesses for future economic growth.”