How the SBA Is Helping Women Entrepreneurs Level the Playing Field

By U.S. Small Business Administration
Published on September 26, 2023

The story of the American small businesswoman is one of unparalleled perseverance, grit, and ingenuity. At the time of the first Women’s History Month, women still needed a male relative to co-sign if they were interested in applying for a business loan. Fast forward 35 years, and women-owned businesses represent more than 41% of the nation’s total firms—according to the most recent data

from the U.S. Census Bureau. As Women’s Small Business Month, October is a great time to celebrate the monumental strides women entrepreneurs have taken toward creating parity in the marketplace. The observance also gives the SBA an opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to empowering women-owned small businesses through counseling, capital, and contracting support.

Learn about the ways we help women entrepreneurs continue to move the needle forward.

Counseling and Learning

Resource partners are the lifeblood of the SBA’s outreach. There are more than 900 Small Business Development Centers, 200 local chapters of SCORE business mentors, and 400 Community Navigators across the country, each offering no- or low-cost services to those who seek them. For women entrepreneurs specifically, the federal government has invested in nearly 150 Women’s Business Centers (WBCs), many of which are located at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and other minority-serving institutions. WBCs are specifically designed to meet women entrepreneurs where they are, providing them with mentoring, training, and other business development resources.

The SBA also hosts a variety of learning initiatives, both online and in-person, to educate small business owners. Programs like…[MORE]

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To read the entire article on the U.S. Small Business Administration website, visit: How the SBA Is Helping Women Entrepreneurs Level the Playing Field