House approves Esty bill encouraging women entrepreneurs

U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty

Washington – The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a bill sponsored by Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5th District, to encourage women entrepreneurs in the science, engineering, technology and math fields.

Her legislation, the “Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act,” says women make up almost 50 percent of the workforce, but less than 25 percent of the workers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professions and are less likely to focus on STEM disciplines in undergraduate and graduate studies.

So Esty’s bill would encourage the National Science Foundation’s entrepreneurial programs to “support women to extend their focus beyond the laboratory and into the commercial world.”

It was approved on a 383-4 vote.

“The overwhelming, bipartisan passage of the Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act this afternoon makes clear that helping women break into fields where they have long been underrepresented is a priority for our national economy, and I’m excited the House has taken this important step forward,” Esty said.