This year we observe the 37th anniversary of Women’s History Month, an annual celebration of women’s contributions to business as well as culture, history and society.

Women have been a driving force behind America’s economic rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, creating 50 percent of all new businesses since 2020. In 2023, women opened more than 1,200 new businesses each day. That includes women of color, who experienced some of the highest business growth rates in American history. This post pandemic boom has been fueled by policies that encourage new business growth and expansion. President Joe Biden’s investing in America agenda reopened our nation’s economy, brought back made in America manufacturing and restored America’s global competitiveness.

As a proud first-generation Asian-American whose mother owned and operated a small medical practice in Iowa, I learned from her experiences running a successful business helps the community by providing needed services and good paying jobs. During Women’s History Month and throughout the year, the U.S. Small Business Administration provides the training, capital and contracts women need to benefit from the president’s pro-business agenda.

The president’s small business boom has transformed the nation’s economy and revitalized America’s main streets in both urban and rural communities. More than 16.5 million new business applications were filed over the last three years —
a record 5.5 million in 2023 alone.  Under President Biden, the United States has enjoyed the first, second and third strongest years of business growth in history.

Between 2019 to 2023, the growth rate of women-owned businesses outpaced their male counterparts by an incredible 94 percent with women-owned firms now making up 39 percent of all businesses.  What’s even more transformative is that women are now disrupting such traditionally male-dominated industries as construction, manufacturing and technology.

Recent SBA data shows women comprise 47.3 percent of workers and own 43.2 percent of businesses. More than 12 million women-owned businesses generated a record total of $1.5 trillion in revenue nationwide, with $387 billion coming from minority owned businesses.   The number of firms owned by women is increasing at a rate 1.5 times the national average, and many of those businesses are started by people of color and veterans.

President Biden’s investing in America agenda has made access to capital a priority. In the 2023 fiscal year, the SBA backed more than 13,000 commercial loans worth a collective
$5 billion to women entrepreneurs through its signature 504 and 7(a) loan guarantee programs. After declining between 2017 and 2020, the number of SBA-backed loans to women is growing, with a
70 percent increase in lending since 2020.     SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman has made it one of her priorities to address systemic gaps in access to capital for the smallest, underserved businesses, especially businesses owned by women, minorities, veterans and those located in rural communities.

The SBA has built an extensive support network of resource partners that provide a wide range of services for women entrepreneurs. Our network of Women’s Business Centers provides coaching, mentoring and training to entrepreneurs across the country. Over the years, WBCs have supported more than 150,000 women entrepreneurs whose businesses in turn generated $1.7 billion in revenue and created 17,000 new jobs.

The Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) federal contract program offers another source of assistance in providing a level playing field for women business owners competing for federal contracts. The federal government limits competition for certain contracts to businesses that participate in the WOSB program.

It’s important during Women’s History Month to recognize the increasing role women play in our local, state and national economies.