Each month, a member of the Business Women’s Forum Steering Committee writes a guest article related to their experience and expertise as a woman in business. This month’s article was written by Megan Engstrom, Northern Program Coordinator at the Women’s Business Center of Utah. 

Over the past two years, I have had the privilege to work for the Women’s Business Center of Utah (WBCUtah), a nonprofit aimed at helping women business owners run more effective businesses through advising and training. WBCUtah’s mission is to help women build confidence, create opportunities and experience success in business ownership. When explaining what I do for work, I am often asked, “Why is it important to support women-owned businesses?”

Here are several reasons why you should support women-owned businesses:

Economic Empowerment: By supporting women-owned businesses, you directly contribute to the economic empowerment of women. This empowerment extends beyond the individual business owners to their families and communities, as women tend to reinvest a significant portion of their income into education, health care and other essential needs for their families.

Building Stronger Communities: As mentioned, women often reinvest in their communities. Women-owned businesses play a crucial role in building stronger and more resilient communities. They create jobs, foster innovation and contribute to the overall economic vitality of local neighborhoods and regions.

Gender Equality and Inclusion: Supporting women-owned businesses is a tangible way to promote gender equality in the business world. By demonstrating that women can succeed as entrepreneurs and leaders, it challenges traditional gender roles and stereotypes. Not only that, shopping from women-owned businesses promotes inclusivity in the marketplace by ensuring that a broader range of voices and perspectives are represented in product offerings, services and decision-making processes within the business community.

Social Consciousness: Women-owned businesses often prioritize social responsibility and community engagement. By shopping from these businesses, you are supporting initiatives that address social issues, promote sustainability and contribute positively to society.

Inspiration and Role Modeling: Seeing successful women entrepreneurs can serve as a powerful source of inspiration and motivation for future generations of innovators. This is a great reason in itself to support and help women-owned businesses flourish.

Ethical and Sustainable Practices: Many women-owned businesses prioritize ethical and sustainable practices, such as fair labor standards, environmental sustainability and community engagement. Supporting these businesses is an excellent way to show that you care about what they are doing and what they stand for. Supporting these businesses is an excellent way to show that you care, not only about what they are doing, but also of what they stand for.

If you want to know where to go to start supporting women-owned businesses, a great resource is the Utah Women-Owned Business Directory. You can search this list by industry or county to find over 3,000 local women-owned businesses throughout Utah!

According to Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) President and CEO Pamela Prince-Eason, “Women business owners are driving our economy and communities nationwide in many ways, and the support and growth of women-owned businesses by all of us is key to the strength of our national economy.”

Ultimately, shopping from women-owned businesses is not just about purchasing products or services; it’s about making a conscious choice to support gender equality, diversity and social progress in the business community and beyond. I invite you to see how you can make a difference in the lives of women-owned businesses this month.

About Megan Engstrom

Megan Engstrom is originally from a small Swedish town in California. She moved to Utah to attend college, fell in love with the state and has stayed ever since! She is a lover of trying new places to eat, going thrift shopping, and planning killer parties for her family and friends. She is passionate about helping women business owners succeed and works as the Northern Program Coordinator for the Women’s Business Center of Utah.