Q&A with with Rebecca Blank, Acting Deputy Secretary of Commerce

March 2011 Newsletter

Rebecca M. Blank was designated as Acting Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce on November 18, 2010. In this role, Blank focuses on matters of management and policy for the department's 12 bureaus, functioning as Commerce's chief operating officer.

Q: It is Women's History Month. Please reflect on your career in economics and what you feel is needed to expand opportunity for women in America and globally.

Highlight

Submitted by EDA's Seattle Regional Office

March 2011 Newsletter

In 2006, EDA invested $300,000 in the Maui Economic Development Board (EDB) in Hawaii to support the Women in Tech (WIT) project, which was started in 1999 and is currently administered by the Maui EDB. The founders of the WIT project were alarmed by data showing that the U.S. would be looking at a critical shortage in the technology workforce by 2012. The founders also viewed women and minorities as the largest under-utilized resource of potential in science and technology. The statistics indicated that in order to maintain the present number of scientists and engineers in the U.S., the enrollment and retention of women and minorities needed to rise from less than 25% to 75%.

White House Honors Women

March 2011 Newsletter

Last week, the White House released a new report entitled Women in America: Indicators of Social and Economic Well-Being, a statistical portrait showing how women are faring in the United States today and how their lives have changed over time.  This is the first comprehensive federal report on women since 1963, when the Commission on the Status of Women, established by President Kennedy and chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, produced a report on the conditions of women. View Women in America report.

Policy Corner

March 2011 Newsletter

Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center

February 17, 2011
CEC Selects 11 Companies for Its Premier Mentoring Program

Click here to read

> Read more

EDA's FY 2012 Budget Proposal

President Obama outlined the best way forward in his FY 2012 budget proposal to Congress by investing in what makes America stronger and cutting what we cannot afford.

Feature Article

Submitted by Kim Hill, Director of Center for Automotive Research, Sustainability and Economic Development Strategies Group.

March 2011 Newsletter

Partnering is the critical element

It’s been a tough couple of years, but there are signs the economy is improving. Consumer confidence is returning. Many companies are beginning to invest in research and development and production capacity—especially in the manufacturing and automotive sectors. Perhaps the best sign of health is that the companies are hiring once again. The key question for communities is: are there things that they can do right now to capitalize on these opportunities and revitalize their economies?