[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 178 (Thursday, November 17, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1163-E1164]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   WOMEN'S ENTREPRENEURSHIP DAY 2022

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GRACE MENG

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 17, 2022

  Ms. MENG. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak in honor of Women's 
Entrepreneurship Day, which is celebrated around the world each year on 
November 19th.
  Women-owned U.S. firms make up nearly 20 percent of all firms that 
employ people and this number is growing. There are nearly 13 million 
women-owned firms in the U.S. alone and they employ close to 10 million 
people. As a testament to their success, women-owned firms reported 
revenues of nearly $1.8 trillion. This is truly astounding and shows 
you how vital women are to the economy. I applaud these women 
entrepreneurs and their economically vital businesses.
  I also applaud the Women's Entrepreneurship Day movement, which is 
spearheaded by Wendy Diamond. Since it launched in 2013, the Women's 
Entrepreneurship Day Organization has annually funded one thousand 
impoverished women with microloans to start their entrepreneurial 
journey, hosted a nationwide entrepreneurship training program for 
60,000 female college students and early-stage entrepreneurs in Saudi 
Arabia, supported Restart Academy, which provides educational services 
for 13-21-year-old students in transitional settings, provided 
financial literacy education to one thousand rural women in the 
Philippines, and partnered with a Uruguayan university to offer 
scholarships to young women.
  Women's Entrepreneurship Day is now celebrated in 144 countries and 
65 universities and colleges internationally, with numerous global 
ambassadors. The Women's Entrepreneurship Day mission is to empower the 
nearly four billion women worldwide to be catalysts

[[Page E1164]]

of change and uplift the over 388 million women and girls living in 
poverty around the world.
  As in past years, the Women's Entrepreneurship Day Organization 
Pioneer Awards recognize and honor distinguished women who are leaders 
and innovators across multiple fields with inspiring accomplishments. 
This year's honorees include:
  Janice Bryant Howroyd--Founder and CEO of The ActOne Group of 
Companies--Business Pioneer
  Lele Pons--Celebrity Influencer, NFT and Crypto Enthusiast, 100 
million Followers--Influencer Pioneer
  Beverly Johnson--Iconic Supermodel--Model Pioneer
  Wendy Fisher--Artist, President of the Board of Trustees of the 
Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation--Art Pioneer
  Neeti Mehta--Co-Founder and Chief Impact Officer of Automation 
Anywhere--Technology Pioneer
  Amanda Feilding--Countess of Wemyss and March, Founder of the Beckley 
Foundation, and Psychedelics Pioneer--Science Pioneer
  Mitzi Perdue--Founder of CERES Farms, Philanthropist, and Anti-Human 
Trafficking Advocate--Philanthropy Pioneer
  Coco Rocha--Founder of the Coco Rocha Model Camp and Supermodel--
Fashion Pioneer
  Marta Belcher--Chair of the Filecoin Foundation and General Council 
and Head of Policy for Protocol Labs--Web3 Pioneer
  Madam Speaker, I urge the entire House to recognize these role 
models, and to celebrate Women's Entrepreneurship Day this year.

                          ____________________