It has been widely reported that women-owned businesses account for a large portion of job creation in this country. America's 9.1 million women-owned businesses employ 27.5 million people and contribute $3.6 trillion to the economy. The U.S. SBA reported that in 2003 women-owned businesses accounted for 30 percent of businesses that exported more than half of their products worldwide. However, women continue to face unique obstacles in the world of business.
Since 2002, the Temple CIBER, in partnership with the Fox School's Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute, has build relationships with national womens business organizations, the State's offices of economic and international business development, as well as women and minority business development initiatives at the Federal level. The expertise among these organizations, leveraged with expertise of entrepreneurship faculty at the Fox School, was highlighted at two annual conferences on Developing Women Entrepreneurs for the Global Marketplace (2003 and 2004).
Beginning in Spring of 2005, Temple CIBER and its partners will expand the focus of this initiative to capture the diversity of issues related to challenges and experiences women face when conducting international business. The DWE Project will focus on bringing together experts in areas important to the success of women in international business; entrepreneurship, international business development, cross-cultural issues, and gender issues in the business environment.
The DWE Speakers Series will consist of a series of smaller events focusing on these specific topics. Guest speakers and practitioners will be able to network, form lasting relationships, and discover invaluable resources.
An output of this on-going initiative is this DWE Project web site. It is populated with resources for international trade, entrepreneurship, as well as organizations for women in international business. Research on topics related to the target audience is also tracked and posted. If you have suggestions for organizations or readings that can be added tot he web site, please contact Temple CIBER director, Kimberly Cahill at kcahill@temple.edu
We look forward to seeing you at a future event!