Women Entrepreneurs Building the Nation through Business and Innovation

As we celebrate Women’s History Month and the vast contributions that women have made to the strength and well-being of our nation, we are seeing the next chapters in this history being written as women take a bigger role in building our economy

Women today make up nearly half of our workforce. Women-owned firms in the United States generate more than $1.4 trillion in revenues and employ millions of people.

Furthermore, when women entrepreneurs flourish, families benefit. Women tend to spend more of their money on their children’s health and education, which leads to a more skilled, more productive generation of workers.

The fact is, when women entrepreneurs take risks and succeed our society changes for the better. Expectations change, not only for other women, but for men and children, too. It becomes easier to accept the idea of a woman as the family’s breadwinner, the head of a household, or a community leader.

Clearly, the world needs more women entrepreneurs. As President Obama said, “We know that when women succeed, America succeeds.”

The Department of Commerce leads America’s efforts to support and empower aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators, both female and male.  Commerce is the one federal agency singularly equipped to help all businesses at every point in their life cycle – from concept to development to finding new global markets. MBDA is proud to be a resource for minority-owned firms focused on their growth and sustainability in an evolving global economy.

Entrepreneurship is one of our nation’s greatest assets and exports. Today, women-owned firms account for about 38 percent of all U.S. firms; with a notable mention of minority women-owned firms who have been named the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs increasing by 70 percent between 2007 to 2012. We want to make it possible for every citizen to contribute to our growth and prosperity and for women to have the same opportunities as men.

In today’s highly competitive global economy, we cannot afford to miss out on half of our nation’s talent pool. We need to encourage girls and women to pursue their dreams and reach their full potential. In this way, they will build on the legacy of our foremothers and write the next great chapter in the history of America’s women.