NAWBO is a proud supporter of WE Decide 2016—an effort that is uniting women entrepreneurs across the country to raise their voices and engage in the 2016 presidential election. Powered by Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) and Personal BlackBox (PBB), WE Decide 2016 is a collaboration between leading business organizations with a mission to educate the candidates, the media and voters on the issues of importance to women entrepreneurs this election season.
The goal is to galvanize 100,000 women business owners to take part in WE Decide 2016.
Women Business Owners by the Numbers
Year over year, women are starting businesses faster than their male counterparts. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent Survey of Business Owners, there are 9.9 million women-owned businesses in the United States, generating $1.6 trillion in receipts. While a large number of women-owned businesses had no employees (89.4%) other than the owner, these firms have receipts of $233 billion. The remaining 10.6% of firms employ 8.98 million people in addition to the owner.
States with the highest number of women-owned firms are California, Texas, Florida, New York and Illinois. From 2007 to 2012, these states experienced the highest percent growth of women-owned businesses: Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, D.C. and Florida.
Why Women Matter in Elections
According to the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, women have voted at higher rates than men in every presidential election since 1980, with the gap between women and men growing slightly larger with each successive election. In 2012, 71.4 million women reported voting, compared with 61.6 million men, a difference of 9.8 million. The difference in turnout was nearly 4 percentage points (63.7 percent of ladies voted versus 59.8 percent of gents). The disparity was more than twice as large if you look just at those who have never been married.
Furthermore, more women are contributing to candidates and political parties now than they were 20 years ago. Democrats are particularly dependent on contributions from women. Learn more here.
How Can Women in Business Have Their Voice Heard Through Participation in WE Decide 2016?
Women make hundreds of decisions a day that impact their families, their businesses and our country. WE Decide 2016 gives women in business a collective voice throughout this election and the power to influence the candidates’ 2016 campaigns and the next President’s agenda. To help women entrepreneurs share their viewpoints, WE Decide 2016 has launched an online platform providing women with their very own personal polling station to participate in quick polls on hot topics, in-depth issue surveys and discuss the challenges they are facing within their business.
Unlike other polls and online survey platforms, the information you share with WE Decide 2016 remains confidential and will never be sold to anyone. Through our partnership with Personal BlackBox, a better data relationship company, you have the ability to track and view how you have responded to polls and surveys throughout the entire election year. You get to retain your privacy, while WE Decide 2016 will take the collective wants, needs and opinions of the women in business participants directly to the candidates to influence future policies.
In addition to offering an avenue for women to speak out, the WE Decide 2016 site offers information on the candidates, election news and education for women business owners on how to get involved in both the political process and become an advocate on the issues impacting their business.
How Will the Survey and Poll Results Be Used?
Armed with the insight we receive from women in business via WE Decide 2016, a Women in Business Priorities Report will be released in June 2016—just in time for the national conventions to encourage political parties and their candidates to prioritize and discuss issues of significance to women entrepreneurs. Additionally, the collective poll and survey results will be shared throughout this election year with candidates, media and voters.
Women in business are united by our decisions every day, and now we have a platform to unite us in the 2016 election to make a positive impact on our future.
Together, WE Decide 2016!
Join the movement today by visiting www.wedecide.org.
Follow on:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/WEDecide2016?ref=bookmarks
Twitter – @WEDecide2016