Articles

Birth of NAWBO: HR 5050 Enacted 25 Years Ago Impacts Women-Owned Businesses

Angela Jamison
Communicopia Marketing Services, Inc. 
135 South White Street 
Wake Forest, NC 27587-2739
Phone: 919 371 2730 
[email protected]

Imagine as a woman entrepreneur applying for a loan for your new start-up company and being required to co-sign that loan with a male relative.  Prior to the late 1980s, women could not get a business loan without a signature from their husband, dad or brother. That changed 25 years ago, when in 1988 President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Women’s Business Ownership Act.

The National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) was born on the national level when women came together for this important legislation, known as HR 5050.

“HR 5050 is a milestone that is critical to each of us as leaders,” says Barbara Kasoff, president/CEO of Washington, D.C.-based Women Impacting Public Policy. “It debunked myths and misconceptions government representatives had about women business owners.  It resulted in the birth of NAWBO, policy changes in access to capital, collection of data on women-owned businesses, training and support and the creation of the Women Business Centers, and the establishment of the National Women's Business Council.  It also made the case of what the power of advocacy could accomplish.  The Act changed the focus, forever, of the role women business owners would play in shaping public policy, as well as their impact in our national economy.”

As our NAWBO-Raleigh chapter celebrates its 35^th anniversary, it’s important to remember the impact this legislation has had on women starting and successfully maintaining their own businesses.

Read more about HR 5050 and the history of NAWBO in these articles:

Heroines of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow by Barbara Kasoff  http://tinyurl.com/cxfmw7n

Enterprising Women Magazine article http://bit.ly/XThPPs