Bay Area Business Women

Bay Area BusinessWoman News is a free, independently-owned and -operated publication serving seven local Bay Area counties. Founded in October 1993 by businesswoman Anna Marks, our goal is to build and bridge an economically viable women's community through our print publication, website and face-to-face networking. BABW News believes in commerce with a conscience and promotes an educational, social and political agenda to advance the status of women and girls. Throughout the year, we work with many women's business groups and highlight local female industry experts, as well as sponsor many nonprofit fundraising events. Our newspaper is available from Santa Rosa to San Jose, and reaches over 50,000 diversified, well-educated, active and involved business and professional women every month.

All Women are "BiziWomen"

We highlight the successes of women in business, the arts, and in the nonprofit sector, and are hopeful that women will continue to gather momentum to become equal partners in all aspects of today's society. The name "BusinessWoman" was chosen to reflect the reality that we live in a capitalist society that measures success in economic terms. This name also commands more respect; it prevents us from being marginalized by identifying us as being mostly concerned about issues like fashion and beauty, as do most other "women's" publications. It is our belief and hope that when women achieve full economic equality we will be able to gain ground in the areas of education, politics, sports, religion, science and technology, and we'll be able to use our economic clout support other women and girls.

Women in Business Facts

Nearly half (10.1 million) of all firms in the U.S. are at least 50% owned by women. Between 1997-2002, the number of privately-held majority or 50% women-owned businesses grew by 11%, more than one and a half times the rate of all privately-held firms. One in every eleven adult women is a business owner. More than 18 million U.S. workers are employed by a woman business owner. One in seven U.S. workers is employed by a woman-owned business. Women entrepreneurs generate nearly $2.3 trillion in revenues to the U.S. economy. The number of women-owned employer firms grew by 37% between 1997 and 2002, four times the growth rate of all employer firms. One in five women-owned businesses is owned by a woman or women of color. Eighty-six percent of women business owners use the same products and services at home as they do in their businesses. © Center for Women's Business Research, 2003

A Look Back

On July 13th, 1848, 70 years after the establishment of our country, several women gathered for tea in upstate New York to discuss the state of women in this emerging society. This pivotal meeting led to a "convention to discuss the social, civil and religious condition and rights of women" which took place in Seneca Falls a few days later on July 19th and 20th. Realizing that the Constitution of the United States purposely excluded women, "A Declaration of Sentiments" was drafted which listed the areas of life where women were being treated as non-citizens. Since then, women have earned many rights, including, but not limited to... The right to hold property and keep earnings (1848) The right to vote (1920) The right to obtain birth control if married (1918) The right to earn a minimum wage (1938) The right to serve on a jury (1947) The promise of equal pay (1963) The right to work in previously "male-only" jobs (1965) The legal right to work if married with children (1971) The right to use contraceptives if unmarried (1972) The right to apply for previously "male-only" help wanted jobs (1973) The right to terminate early pregnancy (1973) The right to have a credit card and open a bank account without a male co-signer (1975) The right to sue a husband for rape (1976) The right to unemployment benefits during the last three months of pregnancy (1976) The right to be drafted into the armed forces (1981) The right to join previously all-male organization like the Lion's Club and Rotary (1984) The right to join state-funded college athletics programs in equal numbers to men (1997) The right to job protection and unpaid leave during pregnancy (1993) The right to sue violent attackers in federal court (2000)

Onward and Upward...

While we applaud these gains, women still have many obstacles to overcome. Some of the most pressing of these include... The Wage Gap: Women still earn on average 74ў to every dollar a man earns. Social Security Benefits: Widows still receive lower payments than married men and are half as likely to receive pensions. Remedies for Discrimination: If a woman can prove sex discrimination in employment, there's a cap on the damages she can receive (there's no cap on damages in race-discrimination cases). It is our sincere belief that the equality of women benefits all members of society. As women, we represent all ages, economic sectors, races, cultures and belief systems. When women finally receive equal status, many other forms of discrimination still pervasive today will be addressed by default.

About the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief

Anna L. Marks decided to start a women's newspaper in March of 1993 shortly after attending an International Women's Day event held in San Francisco. She noticed that the event, despite being well attended by news media and politicians, received no attention from the local media. She also noticed that the local nonprofit agencies and women's business groups were predominately staffed by women who were low-paid or volunteers, and had little success reaching outside their existing networks. She realized then that only women-owned and -operated media would focus attention on these and other issues of importance to women. Six months later, the first issue of BABW News became available to Bay Area women. Originally from New York City, Marks attended the New School in Manhattan and then went on to become a communications major at UMass Amherst before coming west. Marks launched her business while working full time in the printing and publishing industries, learning her trade as she went along. She was a publication layout artist for Ziff Davis Press and Computer Currents Magazine before starting her own newspaper for business and professional women in 1993. She was awarded "Woman of Achievement" by SF Business and Professional Women in 1996, and received a Women and Industry Award by the Commission on the Status of Women in 2003. She has guest lectured at Merritt College in Oakland and UCSF School of Business. She served on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Women Business Owners, SF, 1999-2000.

Bay Area BusinessWoman

telephone: (510) 654-7557

fax: (510) 654-7459 5245

College Ave., Suite 501

Oakland, 94618

info@babwnews.com

www.babwnews.com

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT

Publisher, Editor-in-Chief Anna L. Marks

Managing Editor Lori Hope

Business Editor Deonne Kahler

ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT

Senior Account Executive Carole Chifalo

Account Executive Karen K. Shertzer

Calendar & Classified Editor Shirley Runco

DISTRIBUTION

Distribution Manager Julianne Sherback

Distributor Juan Ramirez

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