About | The Ohio Women's Coalition

What is the Ohio Women’s Coalition?

The Ohio Women’s Coalition is a diverse, non-partisan alliance of women in business, women leaders, women business owners, and men that support the mission across Ohio who are coming together to improve the economic position for all women in our state. The OWC was created to amplify the voice of women in Ohio and to help draw attention to the unique challenges that women encounter, especially underserved women of color and women who live in underserved areas of the state, to gain access to economic opportunities in order to achieve financial stability and prosperity.

Advocacy Results for Women Businesses

Accomplishments on behalf of Women-Owned Businesses in Ohio

Created a statutory definition of “microbusiness” in the Ohio Revised Code (2016)
Created a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) program in the State of Ohio (2020)
Successfully advocated for $10 million in state-backed women-owned business loans at 3% interest rate (2021)
Successfully advocated for $10 million in state-backed women and minority owned business microloans at 0% interest rate (2021)

Results

There are nearly as many WBE’s certified in Ohio as MBE’s, which is a program that was established more than 40 years ago. The OWC is committed to equality and lifting everybody up!
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The State of Ohio is literally making room for Ohio women-owned businesses. Recently, members of the Minority Development Financing Advisory Board voluntarily stepped away in recognition of the lack of women-owned businesses represented. Because of our advocacy, the work of this Board has been mostly focused on women-owned business loans, and they recognized women-owned businesses were not represented equally on the Board.
For the first time in Ohio history, in 2022, each state agency is being asked to predict how many contracts will be going to women-owned businesses during the next fiscal year.