Position Paper 2- Interest Group or Issue
United States Women's Chamber of Commerce
The United States has hundreds of thousands of political interest groups that consistently try to lobby for specific political actions every year. One of the most popular demographics represented among political interest groups is women. Countless groups have made the support of women's rights and representation a large or sole part of their focus. The United States Women's Chamber of Commerce stands out among similar groups due to its consistent independent nature.
The Mission
The U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce was founded in 2001 by Margot Dorfman and Charmagne Manning for the goal of promoting women improving their economic independence, business creation, and equity in workplaces. Other core goals include:
- Job creation, full employment & GDP growth.
- Family-friendly work environments that provide equal opportunity, advancement, human rights, fair pay, a living wage, personal safety.
- Access to affordable, quality healthcare.
- Tax policies that support a strong middle class and do not provide unwarranted loopholes, privileges and giveaways to big business and elite influencers that drain and destabilize our economy.
- A safety net that supports economic security and mobility and strengthens our economy.
- Access to affordable, flexible and quality education. Affordable access to home ownership.
- Access to the tools that drive business creation and growth.
- Fair access to federal contracts including overseas opportunities.
- Retirement security.
- Women’s policy leadership.
Since its founding, the USWCC has stood with large groups of women in times of political uncertainty. Some of the organization's most notable moments are winning a lawsuit against the U.S. Small Business Administration for not implementing a law passed a few years prior that was supposed to help women-owned businesses achieve federal contracts, and supporting women through lawsuits regarding fair pay. These impactful moments for the organization have stemmed from the ever-growing presence of women as business owners and voters, which the group has always worked to promote. Women have had a higher voter registration rate for decades, yet they face several challenges with career advancement. During the 2016 presidential election, the USWCC endorsed Hillary Clinton which was the first presidential endorsement by the interest group.
Website and Social Media Critique
For an organization that has hundreds of thousands of members and regular activism through testifying for different causes on the national level, the online presence for the United States Women's Chamber of Commerce is extremely limited. Although the group has an easily accessible website, there are not many places that USWCC is represented online, which causes the group to blend in with similar organizations. For example, similar, localized chambers of commerce that are also targeted towards women often show up online much quicker, and their ability to showcase physical impact in local communities is extremely impactful and inspirational. Women's Chamber of Commerce in Miami, Florida is a strong example of this, as they have a strong Instagram presence that regularly displays the connections that women can form through the chapter's events.
In contrast, USWCC does not have a dedicated Instagram, which severely limits the group's reach, especially toward younger generations of women. The only presence on Instagram that represents the group is Margot Dorfman's profile, which does not feature any activity.
Despite not having any kind of Instagram presence, the group does have a Facebook page. Facebook is an excellent social media choice for reaching individuals with a lot of career experience, as the platform is widely preferred by older generations. The USWCC Facebook page shows several summit events geared at promoting business ownership development for women, often providing hybrid or fully virtual options for members.
Even though USWCC does have a Facebook account, nothing has been posted to it since 2022, and the posts that still exist on the account do not display any evidence of impact that the group has made on the national level. Additionally, the logo's color is represented as black for the profile picture, which is in direct contrast to the logo on their website, which is purple.
The official website for USWCC is easy to access, but it has several aesthetic features that make it seem less professional than similar organizations. Several of the images on the welcome page appear to have been developed by using generative AI, which has removed any sense of unique branding for the organization.
The USWCC website is very straightforward, displaying upcoming events for members in a very clean and precise format despite its limited branding. However, similar to its Facebook, the group's website relies on internal event news far more than testimonials or media that displays the impact of the organization.
Recommendations
Currently, the online presence for United States Women's Chamber of Commerce does not represent the interest group as a long-standing impactful organization. In order to become more well-known and attract more members that can work toward to group's goal across the US both now and in the future. The group has functioned under the same CEO since its founding, but it will need to appoint new leadership eventually so it is extremely important that potential members are able to effectively be reached. Consistent social media usage, especially on Instagram and Facebook, would establish an understanding of USWCC's mission before people even reach its website. Incorporating photos and videos of actual members, both in individual and business scenarios, could inspire future members to take action. The branding for the organization could also be strengthened since it is currently represented differently between platforms. Relying on a consistent color pallet and text format would help viewers connect similar posts and images together. Instead of incorporating only AI imagery, reaching out to members that have graphic design experience to improve graphics would allow the website to improve in clarity and organization while presenting a professional view of the group's work.
Overall, USWCC has made many strides in its mission, but its online presence does very little to provide initiatives for women in the United States to take action or pursue membership within the organization. However, if action was taken to strengthen the interest group's website and social media presence, it could expand its reach to many more women across the nation. Hopefully, the United States Women's Chamber of Commerce will improve its online presence in order to stand out among similar groups and help even more women in the US.
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