Opinion: This Women’s History Month, let’s focus on creating economic opportunities for women
By Kimberlyn King-Hinds - member of Congress
MARCH is Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate the historic firsts of women in leadership, innovation, and beyond. This month, we reflect on the incredible progress we’ve made in advancing the role of women in society, while also acknowledging the ongoing work that remains.
As the first woman to represent the Northern Mariana Islands in Congress, I am deeply humbled by the opportunity to serve in this capacity. I don’t take lightly the significance of my position, especially for the young women growing up in the farthest reaches of the American flag, where their futures may seem more distant from the corridors of power. I stand as a symbol of possibility for them and for all women who have ever dared to dream big.
While we celebrate the progress made, we must also recognize the challenges that remain — especially when it comes to the economic empowerment of women. One of the most overlooked areas of this conversation is the critical link between women and small businesses. As a member of the House Committee on Small Business, we are working to decrease the regulatory burden that stifles small businesses across America.
Why? Small businesses are spending far too much of their revenue complying with burdensome regulations. I see it first-hand in my district. All businesses in the Northern Mariana Islands are small businesses and they spend up to a quarter of their revenue on regulatory compliance.
When I came to Congress, I thought the challenges faced by my district were unique. I was wrong. It is a common story across America. Consumer debt is at an all-time high and small businesses are not only being denied loans but are going under due to weight of these excessive regulations. Although regulations on small businesses might be good for places like California, for many parts of the country, they are a crippling burden, and many small businesses simply can’t keep up.
The situation is even more dire for the Northern Mariana Islands, where the lack of capital access has led many families to take on crippling amounts of personal debt to keep their small businesses afloat. This is unsustainable. Small businesses in America should not have to shoulder the burden of economic recovery alone.
So, what does this have to do with women? Half of all Americans are employed by small businesses, and the majority of business owners are small business owners. Women are both owners and employees in these businesses and the contributions of woman-owned small businesses is profound. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women owned 12.3 million businesses in the United States, employing 10.8 million individuals. When higher regulatory burdens impact small businesses, the results are clear: women ultimately earn less and our economy suffers.
The ripple effect doesn’t stop there; the cost of goods and services rises as well. When the economy faces a downturn, the Northern Mariana Islands are hit harder than the rest of the country. But when America prospers, we do too. This is especially concerning because the standard of living is disproportionately higher for women than for men, which is an unfortunate reality of living in one of America’s territories.
When fewer women own businesses, fewer women have a seat at the table in making important business decisions — including pricing strategies that impact consumers. One glaring example of this is the “pink tax,” where women are charged more for products that are functionally identical to those marketed to men. Women make up 85 percent of America’s consumer purchases, yet studies have shown that they pay an estimated $2,135 more per year due to gender-based pricing disparities, according to a 2016 report by the Joint Economic Committee.
This happens because too few women are in positions of power to change it. When women are underrepresented in business ownership, product development, and management decision-making, they have less influence over pricing structures.
If we want to tackle economic disparities for women, we must remove the barriers that prevent them from entering and succeeding in business. That means cutting excessive regulations that make it harder to start and grow a business, expanding access to capital so that more women can build competitive businesses, and encouraging policies that support women in leadership and decision-making roles.
There’s a lot of work to be done, but with the Republican-led House, we can ensure women are secure and thriving economically in this country.
This Women’s History Month, let’s not just celebrate progress — let’s focus on the policies that create real economic opportunities for women. Let’s break down the barriers to business ownership, leadership, and financial success so that women are not just part of the economy but drivers of its future.