Bond To Chair Women's Small Business Summit In St. Louis; Event To Set Policy Priorities To Help Women-Owned Firms Grow, Prosper

9/4/2002

From: Craig Orfield of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 202-224-4086

WASHINGTON, Sept. 4 -- Sen. Kit Bond announced today he will chair the "Women's Small Business Summit 2002," in St. Louis, to bring women business owners together for a discussion of small business issues and to create a set of legislative priorities focusing on the needs of women-owned businesses.

The event, scheduled for Sept. 9, at the Hilton St. Louis Frontenac, will feature a group of distinguished speakers, including: Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao; SBA Deputy Administrator Melanie Sablehaus; IRS Commissioner Charles O. Rossotti and Minority Leader Catherine Hanaway, of the Missouri House of Representatives. The Summit is a follow-up to Bond's first "National Women's Small Business Summit," held in Kansas City in June 2000.

"It is clear that women small business owners play an increasingly vital role in our economy - a role that must be safeguarded and encouraged. This Summit will recognize women's success as business leaders," Bond said Wednesday. "As Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, my hope is to continue to nurture the needs of women small business owners."

The Summit will focus on some of the key policy areas of concern to women including: entrepreneurship; health care; procurement, access to capital and regional business opportunities. It also will feature a series of interactive workshops. The event is sponsored by the Public Forum Institute.

"Since the Kansas City summit, we have made great strides in creating a legislative agenda that has facilitated even greater success on the part of current women small-business owners and in offering future incentives to women considering becoming business owners," Bond added.

According to The Center for Women's Business Research, between 1997 and 2002 the number of women-owned firms increased by 14 percent nationwide while their sales grew by 40 percent. In Missouri, women-owned small businesses account for 29 percent of privately-held firms. They also employ nearly 217,00 people and generate almost $24.8 billion in sales in Missouri.