Women-owned businesses are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. economy, having grown by nearly half over the past three years and currently outpacing the number of new male-owned businesses by two-to-one.

	Resources for women executives National Association of Women Business Owners, Pittsburgh chapter The Society of Women Engineers, Pittsburgh section Women's Business Network, Inc. of Southwestern Pennsylvania Executive Women of Westmoreland Women's Business Enterprise National Council Women Impacting Public Policy Allegheny County Office of Minority, Women and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh: Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise Business & Professional Women/PA Pennsylvania Women Work! SMC Business Councils Business Networking International Women and Girls Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania The Chatham College Center for Women's Entrepreneurship Seton Hill University National Education Center for Women In Business

Today's nearly 10 million women-owned businesses make up almost half of all U.S. businesses and employ more than 27 million people -- more than all the Fortune 500 companies combined.

What accounts for this phenomenal growth and success? A major factor has been the development of a national network of women's business centers and organizations. As a result of lobbying by women business owners and the formation of the Small Business Administration's Office of Women's Business Ownership, more than 100 women's business centers have provided would-be entrepreneurs with information, training, technical assistance, and loans.

Membership organizations dedicated to encouraging and advancing the success of women business owners, such as the National Association of Women Business Owners, the Women Presidents' Organization, and the Women's Business Network, also have provided invaluable networking and learning opportunities. And they work: research shows that women who have availed themselves of these opportunities have been more successful than those who have not.

Unfortunately, that success is not mirrored in the Keystone State: Pennsylvania nationally ranks 42nd in the growth of number of privately held, women-owned firms. Pittsburgh's own statistics are equally poor when compared with other metropolitan areas.

Last summer, Chatham College expanded its role as an economic catalyst for the region by establishing the Chatham College Center for Women's Entrepreneurship, befitting the college's 137-year mission to educate and promote women in leadership roles. One of only a very small number of non-government funded, college-based programs for women entrepreneurs, the center is developing a range of educational, networking, and research activities aimed at not only undergraduate and graduate students, but most importantly current and future women entrepreneurs from throughout southwestern Pennsylvania.

The rapid growth of women business owners over the past 30 years has generated a tremendous need for programs and services for them. So why develop a separate program for women entrepreneurs? Research shows that, despite their success, women entrepreneurs still face social and structural barriers specific to their gender.

For instance, in 2005, it was reported that women-owned businesses received only 7 percent of all venture capital and just 2 to 5 percent of the total dollars invested each year -- this despite the fact that women-owned businesses are just as financially strong, creditworthy and as likely to remain in business as the average U.S. firm.

Research also tells us that the ways women business owners think and talk about their businesses, view their leadership roles, and operate their businesses is markedly different than those of their male counterparts. These differences argue strongly for providing women with educational opportunities and support services that fit their particular needs.

We also know that while a greater number of younger rather than older women would like to start their own businesses, older women are more likely than younger women to actually do so. Providing young women with encouragement, training opportunities and role models during their degree-seeking education can help give younger women the confidence they need and to shorten the learning curve necessary to launch their own businesses.

Most importantly, like similar programs around the country, centers for women's entrepreneurship provide women business owners with opportunities for their own professional development and to serve as role models and mentors to others. Such centers can offer students innovative and women-centered educational experiences, such as certification and mentoring programs, and can connect them with successful women role models, experts and sponsors from the business community, faculty from across the institution, and governmental and non-profit support programs and networks.

As opportunities for women entrepreneurs increase, so, too, does the health and vibrancy of the community at large. With Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh lagging behind the national average for growth in women-owned firms, now is the time to support women business owners, and for Pennsylvania's women to take the next step forward in contributing to our state's economic success.