International Women’s Day 2024: Inspire inclusion

International Women’s Day provides the opportunity to highlight the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and to address the diverse challenges women face every day.

This year’s theme, Inspire Inclusion, is a call to action for us all to foster an environment where all women are valued, respected and empowered in every aspect of society. This theme is particularly relevant to the work we do at the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) as we support American jobs by facilitating the export of U.S. manufactured goods and services by providing loans, loan guarantees and domestic financing tools to enable businesses to compete and win in the global marketplace.

Perhaps even more significant, for the last 25 years, our Minority- and Women-Owned Business division has been hard at work educating U.S. small businesses about the financial services available to help their businesses compete globally.

In the last dozen or so years, this small, independent government agency that punches above its weight has provided over financing to about 1,000 women-owned businesses exporting to 150 countries.

Businesses like Alliance Rubber Co. of Hot Springs. Founded in 1923, this woman-owned company is the only manufacturer of rubber bands in the U.S. When Alliance decided to expand into new markets, EXIM’s export credit insurance protected their exports to 60 countries, resulting in a 24 percent increase in sales in just three years.

Indiana-based BNutty is a success story of two soccer moms whose homemade peanut butter helped raise funds for their kids’ soccer team. This woman-owned company has relied on EXIM’s export credit insurance since 2022, and exports now account for 20 percent of their sales. Exporting has increased the company’s overall revenue and provided the opportunity to expand its manufacturing capabilities.

More than 40% of businesses in the United States alone — nearly 13 million — are owned by women. That’s double the growth rate of all other businesses. They generate nearly $2 trillion in revenues and employ more than nine million people, yet only 15% export.

As the official export credit agency of the United States, EXIM has work to do. Businesses that export employ more women — 33% versus 24% for non-exporting companies — and provide a higher wage, better benefits, training and job security and tend to weather financial storms better.

It is not enough to simply know disparity exists; we must do something about it. To inspire inclusion, there needs to be greater access to education, financial services and other tools essential for their success. We must remove the hurdles that prevent women from reaching the C-suite and other senior-level positions. Women-run companies in the U.S. provide a 34% higher return on investment, yet only five percent of Fortune 500s are led by them. Globally, our wage is still 24% lower than a man’s for the same work.

There is no shortcut to empowering women. Not in the U.S., not globally. The more we empower and include women, the more the world benefits.

Vice Chair Judith DelZoppo Pryor was appointed by President Joseph R. Biden to serve as First Vice President and Vice Chair of the board of directors at the Export-Import Bank (EXIM). The opinions expressed are those of the author.