associationFOCUS | Volume 8, Issue 2

Women-Owned Businesses magine a country where less than half of its citizens are given a full range of opportunities. The remaining citizens are prevented from contributing as much as they are capable of. Complicate the situation even more by adding in other factors that affect what people can accomplish, such as race and ethnicity. No matter how prosperous that country might be, there’s no way it can be as prosperous as it could be as long as it neglects or ignores more than half of its citizens. You don’t have to stretch your imagination much to find a real-world example; in addition to other social-justice problems, men and women do not receive equal treatment in the U.S. even though the country has more women than men. This inequity becomes plain when you look at the federal and state government, as well as many businesses. Men generally far outnumber women in government and leadership positions within business organizations. I continued on page 4 2 | association FOCUS