Women Rallying for Change Across the Region

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
Women Rallying for Change
Across the Region

Annual Equal Pay Day events and activities will be held
in three southwest PA counties in partnership with
the Women and Girls Foundation this April

In recognition of national Equal Pay Day, the Women & Girls Foundation will host our
7th Annual Equal Pay Day Rally to raise public awareness about equal pay and the need
for economic justice for women and girls in our region.

DATE:  Tuesday, April 9th
TIME:  12:00-1:00pm
LOCATION:  Market Square, Downtown Pittsburgh
Help spread the word:

Please forward this message to your networks to encourage turnout, and
visit pittsburghequalpayday.wordpress.org
to learn more about how the wage gap impacts women in Pennsylvania

If you are on Facebook, please join the event.
If you Tweet, please use #EqualPayday and tag @wgfpa
________________________________________

Our Partners will also be holding Equal Pay Day activities:

GREENSBURG
Seton Hill University Feminist Collective
Faculty Panel of experts on gender issues, mainly the gender wage gap.
Monday, April 8th, evening
Coffee and snacks will be provided.
For more information, click here
Rally/March beginning at Seton Hill’s Maura Solarium
Tuesday, April 9th, 11:30am
Ice Cream Social for Rally Participants
Tuesday, April 9th, afternoon

UNIONTOWN
MyOWN Campaign in partnership with BPW (Business Professional Women)
at Penn State Fayette (local hosted at PSU Fayette) will host a series of events
during the week of April 8 through April 12, including:
Equal Pay Day Rally on the Fayette County Courthouse Steps
Tuesday, April 9th, at 12:00pm

BPWOW (Women Of the World) Networking event and Salary Negotiation Workshop
Thursday, April 11th,  at 5:00pm
For more information, click here
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
For more information about any of these events,
visit www.wgfpa.org or call 412.434.4883

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Women's Procurement Program Wins Victory

VICTORY - SBA ANNOUNCES FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WOMEN'S PROCUREMENT PROGRAM


For Immediate Release

Contact: Marybeth Grass

Pitch Public Relations

Marybeth@PitchPublicRelations.com

Phone: 480.263.1557

Washington, D.C. - October 7, 2010 - Count Me in for Women’s Economic Independence applauds the release of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s The Final Rule, which will implement the Women’s Procurement Program, enacted into law in 2000.

"With this ruling, more women are poised to get from micro to millions, stimulate job growth and fuel the economy,” said Nell Merlino, CEO and Founder of Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence.

When enacted, contracting officers will have the ability to restrict competition to women-owned small businesses if the procurement falls within one of the eighty-three (83) North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes.

“For eleven long years, we have anxiously awaited final implementation of the Women’s Procurement Program. Thanks to Administrator Karen Mills and her team, the program is finally underway,” said Barbara Kasoff, President of Women Impacting Public Policy. “WIPP’s efforts led the way to ensure that women contractors have the opportunity to receive their fair share of contracting dollars. We believe that increased federal contracting opportunities will give women business owners a chance at growing their business,” added Kasoff.

Since 2008, WIPP’s Give Me 5 Program (www.GiveMe5.com) has helped increase the number of women-owned businesses registered on the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) by over 30 percent. The CCR is the government database that was used to determine the number of eligible industries in the new program. Along with advocacy for passage and implementation of the Program, WIPP’s educational initiatives have worked to build the pool of women-owned businesses ready to bid on federal contracts.

Important to the program’s success is a change made in the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, which restored “parity” among all of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) small business contracting programs. The program will be considered equal to any other small business-contracting program. This issue is highlighted in WIPP’s Economic Blueprint: The Women Business Owners’ Platform for Growth, unveiled during the WIPP 2010 Annual Leadership Conference. The Blueprint serves as WIPP’s voice regarding challenges unique to small businesses that require action by our elected officials.

Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) is a national nonpartisan group with over half-a-million members. WIPP is the collective voice in Washington, D.C., for 51 national women and small business organizations. WIPP advocates for and on behalf of women in business in the legislative process of our nation, creating economic opportunities for members and building alliances with other small business organizations. Visit www.wipp.org

Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence is the leading national not-for-profit provider of resources, business education and community support for women entrepreneurs seeking to grow micro businesses to million dollar enterprises. To achieve this, Make Mine a Million $ Business was launched to challenge women entrepreneurs to reach $1 million in annual revenues in the next decade. Reaching this goal would create more than 4 million new jobs and $700 billion in economic activity. Through pioneering multi-platform programs, Count Me In unleashes the full capacity of women’s entrepreneurial spirit and the striking power of women’s economic potential. This is not just another economic development program. Count Me In is fueling a mindset and a movement that promises to change the landscape of the U.S. marketplace and benefit all Americans and their families.

To find out more, visit www.makemineamillion.org.