Recently in the Give Me 5 Category

More than 150 leading women business owners from Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) gathered at the Annual Conference to celebrate the recipients of this year's prestigious WIPP 2011 Awards. Barbara English, president of English Solutions, Inc., based in Jacksonville, Fla., was the recipient of this year's WIPP "Give Me 5 Award," for her leadership in elevating the voice of women business owners in the national public policy arena.

"Barbara's continual hard work, dedication and desire to be the change agent for identifying opportunities to grow women-owned businesses is an inspiration for all.  As one of our Give Me 5 instructors, she has worked with thousands of women business owners seeking to successfully compete for federal contracts," said WIPP President Barbara Kasoff.

English Solutions consults with and provides effective marketing strategies to small businesses to optimize their ability to win contracts with federal agencies. In addition, has served as Director of Procurement Technical Assistance Center at Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce.

English started her career as a contract specialist in 1975 and ascended through the ranks on the fast track to become the Defense Contract Management Agency's Director of Small Business Programs. She was responsible for facilitating, monitoring and providing insight into activities aimed at increasing the participation of small business concerns.

The WIPP Awards Ceremony was part of WIPP's three-day Annual Leadership Conference in Washington, DC, that ran from October 11th - 13th. The conference agenda included important economic briefings on current policy issues impacting women business owners growth, a very special high level briefing by The White House, a Congressional Luncheon and the exciting unveiling of WIPP's updated Economic Blueprint  used as the organization's call to action to the Administration, Congress and Federal Agencies.

WIPP is a national nonpartisan public policy organization, advocating on behalf of nearly 1 million women-owned businesses representing 59 business organizations. For more information, please visit www.wipp.org

Recently American Express OPEN launched a new OPEN Insight Guide to help women business owners secure government contracts.

The OPEN Insight Guide, Government Contracting: Women in Procurement offers tips, advice, and suggestions for women business owners. Within the guide, you'll find:

 - Excerpts from a roundtable discussion with government-contracting experts and small business owners who have experience in government contracting

 - A list of eligible industries

 - Interview with Ann Sullivan, head of government relations for Women Impacting Public Policy

 - List of resources for women in government contracting

 - Checklist for the program's eligibility requirements

A recent study from American Express found that more than two thirds of the women-owned companies that secure federal contracts generate more than $1 million in sales. Whether you're new to government contracting or an experienced contractor, the information in this new OPEN Insight Guide will help you grow your business through government contacting opportunities.
 

On Wednesday, March 2nd, Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) hosted a luncheon to celebrate a new program launched by the Small Business Administration (SBA) to assist women owned businesses get their fair share of federal government contracts.  We were celebrating a program that was ten years in the making.  This new program identifies 83 industries in which women owned businesses are underrepresented in federal contracting and allows contracting officers to restrict competition in those industries to women owned businesses.

Interestingly, this celebratory luncheon occurred just one day after the White House report on Women in America found that a wage gap between men and women still exists.  Despite the fact that younger women are now more likely than younger men to have an undergraduate or graduate education, women continue to earn less.  

Promoting entrepreneurship through programs like the federal women's contract program is a perfect example of how to end the wage gap.  Giving women small business owners a level playing field and allowing them to succeed is an example of a solution that works.  To learn more about the new contracting program, go to: http://www.giveme5.com/ and http://www.sba.gov/

Today, we ask you to add your support to WIPP's Economic Blueprint.
 
WIPP's mission is to carefully analyze and assess federal policy for small business owners in the following areas: Economic Principles, Access to Capital, Procurement, Healthcare, Energy and the Environment, and Technology and Telecommunications.

The outcome is the Economic Blueprint for the 112th Congress, which outlines the policy priorities of Women Small Business Owners.  The Blueprint is our call to action, which each one of us, regardless of political party or ideology, can unite behind.

By adding your name, YOU give this document strength and demonstrate your support of the Blueprint's principles to Congress.
 
As small business owners, we know time is precious. Please take one minute to add your name and strengthen a unified, national voice for women in business.  If you have already signed-on, thank you!

Click here to sign-on for no charge.

OR
For more visibility, click here to support the Blueprint at the level of your choice.

Legislation affecting the Small Business Administration's (SBA) small business programs is pending in the House and Senate, and WIPP needs your help getting these bills passed! One bill addresses the issue of parity among the small business programs. The other bill makes significant changes to the proposed Women's Procurement Program.