Today is International Women’s Day, and 2018 is proving to be the year for a strong and growing global movement of advocacy, activism and support among women in the workplace. There’s never been a more important time to build on this year’s momentum and commit to the International Women’s Day 2018 theme to #PressforProgress for gender parity.

This momentum is most evident in the continued increase of Women Business Enterprises (WBEs). According to the 2017 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, there are an estimated 11.6 million women-owned businesses in the United States that employ nearly 9 million people and generate more than $1.7 trillion in revenues.

Many of the largest publicly traded corporations in the country see the tremendous value of women-owned businesses and understand the role they play in driving new sources of revenue, deepening customer satisfaction and generating a stronger economy. On March 20, the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) will proudly recognize 66 corporations with the prestigious 2017 America’s Top Corporations for Women’s Business Enterprises (WBEs) Award, which honors those who have implemented world-class policies and programs to enable growth and innovation while creating a level playing field for women-owned businesses.

These top corporations, which include Merck, P&G and Verizon, to name a few, collectively spent more than $39.3 billion on WBENC-certified WBE suppliers in 2016, an increase of $3.6 billion from the previous year. It’s clearly an investment worth making, but what are the tangible benefits of sustainable inclusion of women-owned businesses in supply chains?

Tax Incentives

• Working with a WBENC-certified WBE can provide your company many tax benefits. The federal government affords tax incentives to those who conduct business with minority- and women-owned businesses, and tax liabilities are reduced for projects funded with federal or state grants or loans when the supplier is a women-owned business.

New Sources of Revenue Opportunities

• Research by the Hackett Group shows that working with a WBENC-certified business can increase profitability by as much as 130%. Additionally, procurement organizations who work with a diverse supplier base had lower overall operating costs and spent 20% less on their buying operations.

Work in Diverse Markets

• WBENC-certified WBEs are among the fastest-growing sector of our economy. By working with a WBE, it shows your company’s commitment to supporting diverse markets and furthering economic growth in local communities. In turn, your business becomes more attractive to corporations who are seeking second-tier sourcing suppliers that work with women-owned businesses.

Innovation, Creativity and Flexibility

• Unlike government agencies or large Fortune 500 companies that have set standards and protocols they must adhere to, smaller companies like WBEs have the advantage of agility, making course corrections, faster turnaround times, and implementing creative and innovative strategies to meet the needs of their clients.

Cost Savings

• A nimble and flexible WBE enterprise allows for cost savings through passed-along supply chain and overhead. With fewer processes and “middle men,” products and services reach your business more quickly and more cost-effectively.

Satisfaction

• The end goal is to work with companies that best serve you, regardless if they are certified minority-owned or not, but a 2017 Hackett Group research study indicates that diverse suppliers (minority-owned and women-owned enterprises) either meet or exceed performance expectations 99% of the time.

Domus is a proud women-owned business dedicated to diversity and inclusion and certified by the Women’s Business Enterprise Council (WBEC). As a full-service advertising agency that services clients such as Merck, AIG and Comcast, Domus delivers specialized teams, a higher value proposition and services that meet goals through a commitment to ROI, all for the express purpose of delivering a more effective agency offering. So as we commemorate International Women’s Day, partnering with a women-owned business like Domus not only makes good business sense, it also empowers your company to further advance gender parity and #PressforProgress.