WHEREAS, According to the United States Small Business Administration, there are, as of 2022, an estimated 13,000,000 women-owned businesses in the United States that employ more than 10,000,000 people and generate $1.9 trillion in revenue; and

WHEREAS, Women-owned businesses represent 42 percent of all businesses and women of color account for 50 percent of all female business owners; and

WHEREAS, Among women, women of color are the fastest growing demographic of new business owners; and

WHEREAS, Women of color make up 40 percent of all women in the United States, with 18.5 percent being Latina, 13.9 percent being African American, 6.3 percent being Asian American, 1.3 percent being Native American or Alaska Native, and 0.3 percent being Pacific Islander; and

WHEREAS, Twenty one percent of women-owned businesses are owned by African Americans, 18 percent by Latinas, 9 percent by Asian Americans, 1.4 percent by Native Americans or Alaska Natives, and 0.3 percent by Pacific Islanders, which has the same business-owned representation as the population; and

WHEREAS, A recent White House Press Release announced that in 2022, annual earnings for women-owned businesses increased by almost 30 percent, with women-owned businesses in the manufacturing sector experiencing a 35-percent increase; and

WHEREAS, Women continue to trailblaze across industries every day, starting nearly one-half of all new businesses in the United States in 2021; and

WHEREAS, Women small business owners create valuable opportunities for women workers because they are more likely, particularly those in low-income communities, to hire locally, and tend to have more racial and gender diversity in their workforce. In 2020, it was found by Small Business Majority that one in four women business owners employ nearly all women, with 75 percent to 100 percent, inclusive, of their workforce being women workers; and

WHEREAS, Although more women are embracing entrepreneurship, they often face challenges not typically shared by their male counterparts, including defying social expectations, limited access to social and business networks, overcoming barriers to access capital and new market expansion, owning a sense of accomplishment, building a support network and obtaining mentorship, and balancing business and family life; and

WHEREAS, Forbes Magazine reported that while 79 percent of women entrepreneurs in the United States feel more empowered now than they did five years ago, 66 percent still report difficulty in obtaining the funding they need to succeed; and

WHEREAS, Despite demanding and long hours, women become business owners to implement a new business idea or vision, enjoy the freedom of being an entrepreneur, or to solve a specific industry problem; and

WHEREAS, Women-owned businesses are key to our overall economic success, and their importance is rapidly growing; and

WHEREAS, Women in the United States were not allowed to get a business loan without the signature of a male relative to cosign for them until 1988; and

WHEREAS, October is recognized as Women’s Small Business Month because the law that allowed women to take out a loan in their own name, the Women’s Business Ownership Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-533), was signed on October 25, 1988; now, therefore, be it