Author: Ann Sullivan
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Women Entrepreneurs
When I first began advocating for women entrepreneurs over 15 years ago, I was excited to take on the challenge. At that point the majority of meetings I went to on Capitol Hill consisted mostly of men, and no one was focusing on women business owners. For the first five years, I spent most of…
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The Price of Doing Business: Paying Attention to the Rules
Looking at the past fifteen years of progress women business owners have made, I am reminded that there is no one-step solution to solve inequalities between male and female-owned and large-and-small businesses. Rather, women-owned firms have chipped away at the inconsistencies in the federal marketplace and urged elected officials and policymakers to consider women businesses…
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OMWI: Take Advantage of Your Ally
Did you have any idea that there are 20 offices throughout federal agencies that focus on the promotion of women and women-owned businesses? They are the Offices of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWIs) in agencies such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation…
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The Mystery Behind Lending to Women
In her first appearance before the U.S. House of Representatives, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), Maria Contreras-Sweet, recently said, “There is no silver bullet when it comes to access to capital.” This comes from a woman who left the California-based bank she founded to become Administrator. Her sentiments were brought into clear…
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Women Business Owners Take Capitol Hill
Advocating for change, more than 300 women business owners and their leaders descended on Washington, D.C. packing one of the largest Congressional hearing rooms on Capitol Hill to standing room only. Congressional hearings rarely draw this kind of attendance or celebrity, but both were on display for a July 23, 2014 hearing, “Empowering Women Entrepreneurs:…
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Policy Prescriptions to Assist Women Entrepreneurs
Does the name Alice Paul ring a bell? Alice Paul led the effort to give women the right to vote. She raised money for the cause, led a group of White House protesters known as the Silent Sentinels, was imprisoned three times, force-fed raw eggs when she staged a hunger strike, and kept the pressure…
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Congressional Retirement: Is It a Good Thing?
Election Day is November 4, a whopping 6 months – 30 weeks – from now. For most of us, that is an eternity away. For Members of Congress, however, November elections are knocking on the door. It seems absurd, but the evolving dynamics of Congressional races have changed both the way Washington works and the…
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Women legislators seek to increase access to federal contracts
Advocates for the women’s contracting community are alive and well in Washington. An issue that has limited the success of a program designed to help women access the federal market has taken center stage in both the House and the Senate. Moving forward will require the united voice of the women’s business community and the…