National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) members are diverse in many ways, including the size of their business, the sector, the stage of business development, and political affiliation. NAWBO advocates for women business owners regardless of political affiliation, encouraging and supporting bipartisan legislation focused on building and strengthening a sustainable business economy.
In the beginning, there were twelve women business owners who met informally in the D.C. area to share information about federal contracts, access to capital and other issues related to their businesses. To best represent the diversity within NAWBO membership, all the business advocacy issues we engage in are bipartisan in nature. In order to receive support from NAWBO National, a piece of legislation must have support from both Democrats and Republicans, which means members of both parties serve as sponsors and/or original co-sponsors.
Founded in 1975, the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) members represent more than 14 million women business owners across America. Our members are diverse in many ways, including the size of their business (roughly 40% are sole proprietors), the sectors and communities they serve, the stage of business development, their race, ethnicity, geographic business areas, and political leanings that determine policy views. The NAWBO 2025 Advocacy Agenda embodies the ever-present need to represent all our members while creating the avenue and environment to build sustainable women-owned businesses. Statistics shown below reflect findings from a 2025 NAWBO survey of more than 1,000 women business owners conducted nationwide.
Proposed Bill Language to Address the Needs of the "Microbusiness" and Encouraging Emerging Entrepreneurs
Our most recent survey shows that only 20% of women-owned businesses have over a million dollars in annual revenue. There is a steep hill for women to climb to grow and scale their businesses. One avenue is access to affordable funding, which remains the second-highest priority for women business owners today. Congress needs to codify a definition of a microbusiness to better support access to capital for all our microbusinesses.
Growing Our Economy
While women business owners contribute significantly to the U.S. economy, adding $3.3 trillion in 2024, closing the revenue gap between women- and men-owned businesses could generate an additional $10.2 trillion in economic activity, per the 2025 Wells Fargo report.
● 65% of members cite attracting new customers as their top challenge. Women entrepreneurs need social media training, fintech tools, and increased opportunities in government procurement to reach broader markets.
● Federal support for specific programs, such as the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) program, has helped women enter the federal procurement system and scale their businesses.
Establishment of the definition of Microbusiness
Section 632 of title 15, United States Codes is amended— (1) Inserting after section “ff”: “(gg) Definition of Microbusiness - Criteria: To be considered a “microbusiness”, an independently owned and operated forprofit business entity, must meet both criteria: Employment of not more than 50 full-time employees or full-time equivalent employees; and Annual revenue of not more than $5,000,000. (hh) While microbusinesses listed in gg are the definition of microbusiness in this section, it is important to note the specific concerns of single person companies that are a significant portion of the microbusiness segment. Further, companies that employee 10 or fewer employees make up another large segment of the women owned business. These companies have specific needs that the legislature and administrative agencies should consider when making policy decisions.” Definitions: For purposes of this section the following terms are defined: “Full-time employee" means an individual who is employed for consideration for at least thirty-five (35) hours each week or who renders any other standard of service generally accepted by custom or specified by contract as full-time employment.
Workforce
Health care benefits, a flexible work schedule, and paid time off were the top three ways our business owners attract talent. Moreover, more than half of those businesses already offering Paid Family Medical Leave say it also helps them retain talent.
● Only 45% of the NAWBO members could offer health coverage benefits due to cost. In addition to NAWBO’s support of Section 45S of the Internal Revenue Code, which gives a tax credit to employers who provide paid family and medical leave, NAWBO also urges Congress to consider legislation to help small businesses offer their employees benefits by increasing access to existing federal and state benefits portals.
● NAWBO believes Congress should look at ways to ensure that small businesses can continue to thrive by utilizing independent contractors as a critical workforce component since more than 90% of NAWBO members use up to 10 independent contractors.
● NAWBO supports bipartisan efforts to increase access to paid leave, such as the bipartisan IPLAN Act, which would provide pathways for states to improve access to paid leave, exchange data, and support efforts to streamline best practices and meet the needs of the employees and employers both.
Women Business Owners are Using AI, Though Many Have Security Concerns
81% of NAWBO members are using AI, primarily chatbots such as ChatGPT (75%); however, 40% are concerned about security risks and fraud related to AI. For those not using AI, security concerns are a key barrier.
● Federal funding for AI literacy and security frameworks could enable broader adoption.
Diversification of Energy Sources
With rising energy costs, women-owned businesses recognize the necessity of diversifying energy sources to not only bring down the cost of energy but also relieve the burden on the electric grid. Investments in alternative forms of energy, such as natural gas and its infrastructure, can help bring down costs and emissions while having bipartisan support among members of Congress. In addition, the evolution of AI will require energy solutions, as ChatGPT requires ten times the energy as a Google search.
● We must look at alternative forms of energy like natural gas to ensure we can fully support a grid that meets our needs as we advance our technology.
Simplifying Our Tax Code and Making Certain TCJA Small Business Provisions Permanent Nearly 50% of members did not see a benefit from the C-Corporation tax rate reductions or temporary deductions for pass-through entities.
● However, half of NAWBO members identify the 20% pass-through deduction as critical to their business.
● NAWBO also supports modernizing the FICA tax tip credit by extending it to the beauty industry.
● NAWBO believes simplified, impartial tax policies are necessary to maximize small business benefits.
Support for Women’s Business Centers and SBA Programs
Uncertainty surrounding funding for small business programs makes it challenging for entrepreneurs to access the capital and resources they need to grow. The President’s 2026 Budget Request proposes funding cuts to SBA programs, including funding for Women's Business Centers. • Strengthening the Small Business Administration (SBA) is essential for ensuring small businesses— particularly women-owned businesses—can weather economic shifts, hire workers, and invest in innovation, which ultimately benefits the entire nation and economy.
NAWBO has focused on public policy issues of national and statewide interest impacting women entrepreneurs and small businesses since 1975. By attending White House events, providing Congressional testimony, holding advocacy conferences, developing reports, and educating members, NAWBO has consistently brought the concerns of women business owners to our lawmakers in Washington, D.C.
In 1988, NAWBO played a key role in the passage of The Women’s Business Ownership Act, also known as H.R. 5050. This landmark legislation allowed women to receive business loans without the co-signature of a male relative. H.R. 5050 also created the National Women’s Business Council, a body of women entrepreneurs and women’s organizations that provides counsel to the President and Congress.
NAWBO supports federal legislation that helps to overcome the current barriers related to access to capital by women business owners (WBOs) and reduces the risk of private sector lending to small businesses. The major sources of funding that women business owners continue to rely on are personal savings, reinvested business earnings, lines of credit, loans, equity financing, and venture capital, in that order.
NAWBO favors a three-pronged advocacy approach in this area, choosing to focus on the various SBA loan programs, the Small Business Investment Company program, and tax incentives to encourage investment in the small business sector.
NAWBO supports achievement of the five percent Federal procurement goal for women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) and other steps designed to assure women business owners their fair share of Federal contracts and contract dollars. Failure to achieve the 5% goal has cost women business owners an average of $5 billion in lost contract dollars each year.
NAWBO opposes contract bundling, the Federal government’s policy of consolidating its purchases of unrelated goods and services into a single large contract. Bundling limits the opportunities for small businesses to effectively compete, thereby restricting competition and increasing the overall cost of goods and services to the federal government.
Health care insurance cost reduction is a very important issue for NAWBO members. The results of the 2010 NAWBO Public Policy Survey show that health care cost issues are third only to the economy and business taxes as issues affecting our members’ businesses and their votes. In this critical time NAWBO wants to be part of the dialogue on health care reform.
NAWBO supports legislation that will make health insurance more affordable for women business owners and their employees. NAWBO will consider and support, as appropriate, federal and state legislation designed to address the rising cost of health insurance by lowering premiums or creating tax incentives that make the purchase of health insurance more affordable for small business owners and their employees.
NAWBO supports fair and equitable tax policy for large and small businesses that fosters the economic growth of women-owned and other small businesses. Legislation should be enacted to ensure tax equity and basic fairness for all forms of small business organizations. The privilege of deducting legitimate business expenses should no longer be based upon the entity chosen to operate the business.ss taxes as issues affecting our members’ businesses and their votes. In this critical time NAWBO wants to be part of the dialogue on health care reform.
-All of the above information has been supplied by www.nawbo.org. Please visit the national site for additional information on Public Policy.-
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