Women & Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century
August 8, 2002
New Britain, CT

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ABOUT YOUR HOSTS 

Department of Labor
The Department of Labor fosters and promotes the welfare of the job seekers, wage earners, and retirees of the United States by improving their working conditions, advancing their opportunities for profitable employment, protecting their retirement and health care benefits, helping employers find workers, strengthening free collective bargaining, and tracking changes in employment, prices, and other national economic measurements. In carrying out this mission, the Department administers a variety of Federal labor laws including those that guarantee workers’ rights to safe and healthful working conditions; a minimum hourly wage and overtime pay; freedom from employment discrimination; unemployment insurance; and other income support.  

The Public Forum Institute
The Public Forum Institute is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating the most advanced and effective means of fostering public discourse.  Based in Washington, DC, the Forum develops and coordinates public forums across the country - engaging citizens, experts, community leaders, elected officials and others in substantive discussions on dozens of policy issues. Through a partnership with foundations, print and broadcast media, policymakers, opinion leaders and corporate philanthropy, the Public Forum Institute serves local communities throughout the nation, contributing to a more informed public. For more information on the Forum’s activities in women’s issues, visit www.publicforuminstitute.org/issues.  

Small Business Administration
President Dwight Eisenhower established the U.S. Small Business Administration in 1953 to help small businesses compete in the post-WWII recovery period.  Today it continues to help small businesses succeed in a competitive marketplace through loan programs, technical support, and access to capital and contracting.  Congress established the SBA’s Office of Women’s Business Ownership in 1979 to foster the participation of women entrepreneurs in the economy.  There currently are about 80 women’s business centers nationwide, in nearly every state and U.S. territory. These centers, along with the Online Women’s Business Center, SBA district offices and other SBA resource partners offer women entrepreneurs wide access to many programs and services to help them start and grow successful businesses.