SCR169 - Women’s Small Business Month.

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 169 CHAPTER 88 Relative to Women’s Small Business Month. [ Filed with Secretary of State June 09, 2026. ] LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SCR 169, Gonzalez. Women’s Small Business Month. This measure would declare October 2026 as Women’s Small Business Month and would encourage all citizens to recognize the economic importance of women’s small businesses in California. Digest Key Fiscal Committee: NO Bill Text WHEREAS, According to the United States Small Business Administration, as of 2022, an estimated 13,000,000 women-owned businesses in the United States employ more than 10,000,000 people and generate $1.9 trillion in revenue; and WHEREAS, Women-owned businesses represent 42 percent of all businesses and women of color account for 50 percent of all female business owners; and WHEREAS, Among women, women of color are the fastest growing demographic of new business owners; and WHEREAS, Women of color make up 40 percent of all women in the United States, with 18.5 percent being Latina, 13.9 percent being African American, 6.3 percent being Asian American, 1.3 percent being Native American or Alaska Native, and 0.3 percent being Pacific Islander; and WHEREAS, Twenty-one percent of women-owned businesses are owned by African Americans, 18 percent by Latinas, 9 percent by Asian Americans, 1.4 percent by Native Americans or Alaska Natives, and 0.3 percent by Pacific Islanders, which has the same business-owned representation as the population; and WHEREAS, In 2023, a White House Press Release announced that in 2022, annual earnings for women-owned businesses increased by almost 30 percent, with women-owned businesses in the manufacturing sector experiencing a 35-percent increase; and WHEREAS, Women continue to trailblaze across industries every day, starting nearly one-half of all new businesses in the United States in 2021; and WHEREAS, Women small business owners create valuable opportunities for women workers because they are more likely to hire a more diverse workforce. In 2020, it was found by Small Business Majority that one in four women business owners employ nearly all women, with 75 percent to 100 percent, inclusive, of their workforce being women workers; and WHEREAS, in 2025, the Small Business Development Center helped establish 1,231 women-owned businesses in California, creating 4,099 jobs and receiving $198,000,000 in capital contributions; and WHEREAS, Although more women are embracing entrepreneurship, they often face challenges not typically shared by their male counterparts, including defying social expectations, limited access to social and business networks, overcoming barriers to access capital and new market expansion, owning a sense of accomplishment, building a support network and obtaining mentorship, and balancing business and family life; and WHEREAS, Forbes Magazine reported that while 79 percent of women entrepreneurs in the United States feel more empowered now than they did five years ago, 66 percent still report difficulty in obtaining the funding they need to succeed; and WHEREAS, Despite demanding and long hours, women become business owners to implement a new business idea or vision, enjoy the freedom of being an entrepreneur, or to solve a specific industry problem; and WHEREAS, Women-owned businesses are key to our overall economic success, and their importance is rapidly growing; and WHEREAS, Women in the United States were not allowed to get a business loan without the signature of a male relative to cosign for them until 1988; and WHEREAS, October is recognized as Women’s Small Business Month because the law that allowed women to take out a loan in their own name, the Women’s Business Ownership Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-533), was signed on October 25, 1988; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature designates October 2026 as Women’s Small Business Month and encourages all citizens to recognize the economic importance of women’s small businesses in California; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.