The Greater Women's Business Council Announces Region's 2019 TOP Corporations Committed to Advancing Women-Owned Businesses

ATLANTA, May 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Greater Women's Business Council, Inc. (GWBC), the largest provider of certification and development resources for women business enterprises (WBEs) in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, announced nine corporations selected as its 2019 TOP Corporations of the Year.

These corporate partners, who have demonstrated a passion for inspiring, engaging, empowering and furthering the success of women-owned businesses, were recognized at a celebratory luncheon on April 30 at The St. Regis Atlanta. 

GWBC's 2019 TOP Corporations of the Year for Women's Business Enterprises are:

• Accenture
• AT&T
• The Coca-Cola Company
• Georgia Power
• Randstad USA
• SunTrust 
• UPS
• Wells Fargo
• WestRock

"The success and growth of women-owned businesses in our country in recent years has been extraordinary and we're grateful to our corporate partners who have helped make this possible. That's why we're honored to showcase these 'best in class innovators' in supplier diversity and procurement as our annual TOP Corporations of the Year," said Roz Lewis, president & CEO of GWBC.

"To help put the impact of women-owned businesses in perspective, consider this from a recent American Express women-owned business study: Four out of every 10 businesses in the U.S. are now women-owned, generating a total of $1.8 trillion in revenue," added Lewis.

According to the "2018 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report" commissioned by American Express, an in-depth analysis of the period 2007-2018 showed that overall growth in women-owned businesses has continued unabated for the last 11 years:

• The number of women-owned businesses surged 58 percent, while all businesses increased only 12 percent
• Total employment by women-owned businesses rose 21 percent, while for all businesses it declined 0.8 percent
• Total revenue of women-owned businesses jumped 46 percent, while revenue for all businesses increased 36 percent

GWBC partners with dozens of major companies who are committed to providing a sustainable foundation to bring education, training and the standardization of national certification to women businesses in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

The power of these partnerships can be seen through the numbers: GWBC's constituency is comprised of more than 1,000 certified WBEs that staff more than 51,000 employees and generate more than $9.3 billion in revenue.

GWBC's TOP Corporations of the Year Awards is unique in that each corporate honoree's award is presented through a real-world testimony of a WBE partner whose business has been directly impacted by their support.  Judged by a panel of WBEs, criteria for the GWBC TOP Corporations of the Year awards include corporations that are members of the organization; have a dedicated supplier diversity program serving Georgia and the Carolinas; meet and exceed spend goals with WBEs; and actively participate in educational and development activities with WBEs in the region.

WBEs who presented at this year's TOP Corporations Awards are: ASAP Solutions Group for Accenture, Prosys Information Systems for AT&T, Ultimate Model Management, Inc. for The Coca-Cola Company, Customer Focused Strategies for Georgia Power, Primus Software Corporation for Randstad USA, Exhibits South for SunTrust, Avacend, Inc. for UPS, Innolect, Inc. for Wells Fargo, and Interprint Communications for WestRock.

For more information on GWBC visit www.gwbc.biz.  

ABOUT THE GREATER WOMEN'S BUSINESS COUNCIL, INC.
The Greater Women's Business Council, Inc. (GWBC) is a not-for-profit organization that provides nationally-recognized certification through its Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) network, innovative programming and value-driven events customized to the unique needs of women business owners (WBEs) in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. GWBC's constituency is comprised of more than 1,000 certified WBEs, dozens of corporate member partners, government entities and business alliances united to inspire, engage and empower women-owned businesses. A Regional Partner Organization of WBENC, GWBC is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with a satellite office in Charlotte, North Carolina. Learn more at www.gwbc.biz.

SOURCE The Greater Women's Business Council, Inc.