Hosted by Julie Weeks, National Women’s Business Council (NWBC)
 

The National Women's Business Council is a bi-partisan federal advisory council 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. The Council's mission is to promote bold initiatives, policies and programs designed to support women's business enterprises at all stages of development in the public and private sector marketplaces -- from start-up to success to significance.

Mission:

Advisors to the President, Congress and the Small Business Administration

The National Women's Business Council is a bi-partisan, federal advisory council 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. The Council's mission is to promote bold initiatives, policies and programs designed to support women's business enterprises at all stages of development in the public and private sector marketplaces -- from start-up to success to significance.

Members of the Council are prominent women business owners and leaders of women's business organizations.

The Council is committed to:

• Conducting research on issues of importance to women business owners and their organizations

• Communicating these findings widely

• Connecting the women's business community to one another and to public policy makers

• Providing a platform for change in order to expand and improve opportunities for women business owners and their enterprises
   

Research & Publications

The National Women's Business Council is committed to conducting groundbreaking research on issues of importance to women business owners. In fact, federal mandate dictates that 55 percent of the Council's annual budget should be spent on research activities.

The Council's leading edge research reports -- internationally respected for their integrity and validity -- enlighten, inform and provide policy guidance to policymakers, women business owners, the media and others on critical issues including:

• Access to capital
• Access to entrepreneurial education, training and technical assistance
• Access to affordable health care
• Women-led firms and venture capital investment;
• Women-owned firms in federal procurement
• Collecting comprehensive statistics to provide an accurate profile of women business owners and their enterprises

The Council's research is action-oriented, including recommendations on initiatives and programs and descriptions of best practices.
 

For more information contact: www.nwbc.gov
Julie Weeks - National Women’s Business Council (NWBC)

Ethnic minority businesses in DC meeting the local Small Business Administration (SBA) Washington Metropolitan Area office

Hosted by:

Joseph P Loddo, District Director

Delcine Motgomery, Business Development Specialist

Joyce Mears, Business Development Specialist

Small and Disadvantaged Business Assistance

Minority Ethnic Business Development
 

The SBA’a Section 8(a) program is attended for business development purposes to help socially and economically disadvantaged business owners.  SBA assists these firms in gaining equal access to the resources necessary to develop their business and thereby improve their ability to compete on an equal basis in the mainstream of the American economy.

Business development is usually accomplished by one-on-one counseling as the need occurs, training workshops, and assistance in expanding into federal government contracting activity.

Social disadvantaged is defined as individuals who have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias because of their identity as a member of a group without regard to their individual capabilities. The following individuals are presumed socially disadvantaged:

Black Americans

Native Americans

Hispanic Americans

Asian Pacific Islanders

Sub Continent Asian Americans

Economic  disadvantaged is defined as individuals who are socially disadvantaged and whose ability to compete in the free enterprise system has been impaired due to diminished capital or credit opportunities, as compared to others in the same or similar line of business and competitive market area who are not socially advantaged

 SERVICES AVAILABLE
 

Free counseling, advice and information on starting a business through the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE).

Financial assistance for new or existing businesses through guaranteed loans made by area bank and non-bank lenders.

Free consulting services through the network of Small Business Development Centers. SBDCs also conduct training events throughout the district - some require a nominal registration fee.

Assistance to businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals through the Minority Enterprise Development Program.

Women's Business Ownership Representatives are available to advise women business owners.

Special loan programs are available for businesses involved in international trade.

For credit-worthy veterans, a guaranteed loan could be available – contact needs to be made with the Veterans Affairs Officer.

Working lunch and meeting with the Calvert Group in Bethesda, Maryland Calvert Women's Principles is the first global code of conduct for corporations focused exclusively on empowering, advancing, and investing in women worldwide.

Host: Amy Augustine, Social Research Analyst

Calvert (The Company) offers a full family of more than 30 equity,

Equity, fixed income, and money market mutual funds as well as separate account products for institutional investors.

Calvert has been a leader in the Socially Responsible Investing field for more than two decades.

Calvert recognizes that today's social and economic issues have a way of becoming tomorrow's economic problems. So, investing in companies that are committed to meeting the challenges of the future with an expanded view of corporate responsibility is more than just a matter of "doing the right thing" - it also makes good business sense

1. DISCLOSURE, IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING

Corporations will promote and strive to attain gender equality in their operations and in their business and stakeholder relationships by adopting and implementing proactive policies that are publicly disclosed, monitored and enforced.

2. EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME

Corporations will promote and strive to attain gender equality by adopting and implementing wage, income, hiring, promotion and other employment policies that eliminate gender discrimination in all its forms.

3. HEALTH, SAFETY AND VIOLENCE

Corporations will promote and strive to attain gender equality by adopting and implementing policies to secure the health, safety and well-being of women workers.

4. CIVIC AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Corporations will promote and strive to attain gender equality by adopting and implementing policies to help secure and protect the right of women to fully participate in civic life and to be free from all forms of discrimination and exploitation.

5. MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE

Corporations will promote and strive to attain gender equality by adopting and implementing policies to ensure women's participation in corporate management and governance.

6. EDUCATION, TRAINING, AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Corporations will promote and strive to attain gender equality by adopting and implementing education, training and professional development policies benefiting women.

7. BUSINESS, SUPPLY CHAIN AND MARKETING PRACTICES

Corporations will promote and strive to attain gender equality by adopting and implementing proactive, non-discriminatory business, marketing and supply chain policies and practices.

Procurement discussion in DC hosted by Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) with experts from the Women President’s Organization (WPO) a government procurement office, a corporate procurement office, women entrepreneurs.

Hosted by:

Susan Philips Bari, President

Linda J Denny, Vice President

The Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), founded in 1997, is the nation's leading advocate of women-owned businesses as suppliers to America's corporations. It also is the largest third-party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women in the United States. WBENC works to foster diversity in the world of commerce with programs and policies designed to expand opportunities and eliminate barriers in the marketplace for women business owners. WBENC works with representatives of corporations to encourage the utilization and expansion of supplier/vendor diversity programs.

Dedicated to enhancing opportunities for women's business enterprises, WBENC works in partnership with women's business organizations located throughout the country to provide a national standard of certification for women-owned businesses. The organization also provides its corporate members and certified women's business enterprises (WBEs) with access to a range of B2B sourcing tools including, an Internet database – WBENCLink – that contains information on certified women's businesses for purchasing managers nationwide. WBENC is a resource for the more than 700 US companies and government agencies that rely on the WBENC certification as an integral part of their supplier diversity programs.

Through its benchmarking surveys and ongoing interaction with certified women's business enterprises, WBENC has become the nation's leading source of information on trends in supplier diversity programs for WBEs at US companies and government agencies. WBENC also promotes best practices in supplier diversity through the annual selection of "America's Top Corporations for Women's Business Enterprises."

WBENC prepares and provides its partner organizations with on-site training and educational materials detailing certification procedures and program management. WBENC's research projects and surveys, primarily of CEOs and corporate procurement decision-makers, help to identify impediments to doing business and suggest "best practices" to maximize WBE opportunities and expand and enhance supplier diversity programs. The "Balanced Scorcard for WBE Program Process Improvement" assists WBENC corporate members in self evaluating their WBE programs.