Starting out as a week-long celebration of women's contributions to culture, history, and society organized by the school district of Sonoma, California, in 1978, the idea of acknowledging the important role women play in our communities began to catch on, and in 1987 it officially became nationally observed throughout the month of March. Since then, we have been able to finally start acknowledging the tremendous strides women make in strengthening our communities and economy. Although we still have quite a way to go in achieving equal footing in a number of areas like wages, access to capital, and procurement opportunities, we do know that women are starting businesses at twice the rate of men, and are thereby increasing GNP through revenue growth and job creation.  

Here at the MWBC we are proud to directly contribute to the success of women entrepreneurs through our counseling and training services. 

In FY16 we: 

• Assisted in the creation of 24 businesses, 
• 119 jobs created/retained,
• $2.3 million in sales growth.                                                                                                

This year, we plan to double those numbers, but we cannot achieve these milestones without the continued support of our stakeholders, and the men and women who see the value in ensuring that the empowerment of women continues.The struggles of Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Stanton, and Mary McLeod Bethune have paved the way for progress, but we still have our work cut for us. Find out more about what we are doing to empower women by attending our Open House on March 29th, and join us in helping to make a difference.

 

For more information, please check out our website at www.marylandwbc.org.

 

Happy Women's History Month! 

Kiesha