Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-ID), chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, held a hearing to consider ways to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem at the local, state and federal level for women entrepreneurs and women small business owners across the nation.


“As many of you know, October is National Women’s Small Business month which serves as a great reminder that female entrepreneurs own more than 11 million businesses in our country and employ more than 9 million workers. They contribute over $1.6 trillion in sales to our national economy and are capable of even more as its fastest-growing sector,” said Risch. “I often say that what entrepreneurs and small business owners want more than anything is to have more time to devote to growing their businesses. Women entrepreneurs, as many of you can attest to, oftentimes are working to juggle even more priorities than their male counterparts, and they are negatively impacted by the expense of time and resources that it takes to comply with our complicated and burdensome tax code. It is for this reason that tax reform can and should be part of today’s discussion.”


Risch welcomed testimony from a diverse panel of notable women business leaders, including Elizabeth Gore, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Dell, Tracy Chadwell, Founding Partner at 1843 Capital, and Michelle Richards, Executive Director of Great Lakes Women’s Business Council. The witnesses delivered testimony spanning a wide-range of the many challenges facing women entrepreneurs, and offered insight into the numerous opportunities and innovations that exist to make it easier for women to start and grow a business across the country.

For full witness testimony, click here.

Click here to view Risch's full opening statement.