I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5858 
To increase the United States financial and programmatic contributions to 
promote economic opportunities for women in developing countries. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 20, 2006 
Mrs. LOWEY (for herself, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. HONDA, Mr. 
MCGOVERN, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of 
California, and Mr. SCHIFF) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on International Relations 
A BILL 
To increase the United States financial and programmatic 
contributions to promote economic opportunities for 
women in developing countries. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Global Resources and Opportunities for Women to 
Thrive Act of 2006’’ or the ‘‘GROWTH Act of 2006’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
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Sec. 2. Findings and statement of policy. 
Sec. 3. Microenterprise development assistance for women in developing coun-
tries. 
Sec. 4. Support for women’s small- and medium-sized enterprises in developing 
countries. 
Sec. 5. Support for private property rights and land tenure security for women 
in developing countries. 
Sec. 6. Support for women’s access to employment in developing countries. 
Sec. 7. Trade benefits for women in developing countries. 
Sec. 8. Exchanges between United States entrepreneurs and women entre-
preneurs in developing countries. 
Sec. 9. Assistance under the Millennium Challenge Account. 
Sec. 10. Growth Fund. 
Sec. 11. Data collection. 
Sec. 12. Support for local, indigenous women’s organizations in developing 
countries. 
Sec. 13. Report. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Women around the world are especially vul-
nerable to poverty. They tend to work longer hours, 
are compensated less, and have less income stability 
and fewer economic opportunities than men. 
(2) Women’s share of the labor force is increas-
ing in almost all regions of the world. Women com-
prise more than 40 percent of the labor force in 
eastern and southeastern Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, 
and the Caribbean, nearly a third of the labor force 
in Central America, and nearly two-fifths of the 
labor force in South America. About 250 million 
young women will enter the labor force worldwide 
between 2003 and 2015. 
(3) Women are more likely to work in informal 
employment relationships in poor countries com-
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pared to men. In sub-Saharan Africa, 84 percent of 
female non-agricultural workers are informally em-
ployed compared to 63 percent of men. In Latin 
America, 58 percent of women are informally em-
ployed compared to 48 percent of men. Informal em-
ployment is characterized by lower wages and great-
er variability of earnings, less stability, absence of 
labor organization, and fewer social protections than 
formal employment. 
(4) Changes in the economy of a poor country 
affect women and men differently; women are dis-
proportionately affected by long-term recessions, cri-
ses, and economic restructuring and they often miss 
out on many of the benefits of growth. 
(5) International trade can be an important tool 
of economic development and poverty reduction and 
its benefits should extend to all members of society, 
particularly the world’s poor women. 
(6) Promoting fair labor practices for women, 
and access to information, education, land, credit, 
physical capital, and social services is a means of 
boosting productivity and earnings for the economies 
of developing nations. For example, according to the 
World Bank, in sub-Saharan Africa, inequality be-
tween men and women in employment and education 
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suppressed annual per capita growth during the pe-
riod 1960–1992 by .8 percentage points per year. 
(7) Expanding economic opportunity for women 
in developing countries can have a positive effect on 
child nutrition, health, and education, as women 
often invest their income in their families. Increasing 
women’s income can also decrease women’s vulner-
ability to HIV/AIDS, gender-based violence, and 
trafficking, and make them more resistant to the im-
pact of natural disasters. 
(8) Economic opportunities for women, includ-
ing microfinance and microenterprise development 
and the promotion of women’s small- and medium- 
sized businesses, are a means of generating gainful, 
safe, and dignified employment for the poor. 
(9) Women play a vital, but often unrecognized, 
role in averting violence, resolving conflict, and re-
building economies in post-conflict societies. Women 
in conflict-affected areas face even greater challenges 
in accessing employment, training, property rights, 
credit, and financial and non-financial resources for 
business development. Ensuring economic oppor-
tunity for women in conflict-affected areas plays a 
significant role in economic rehabilitation and con-
solidation of peace. 
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(10) Given the important role of women in the 
economies of poor nations, poverty alleviation pro-
grams funded by the Government of the United 
States in poor countries should seek to enhance the 
level of economic opportunity available to women in 
those countries. 
(b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is, therefore, the 
policy of the United States to actively promote develop-
ment interventions that enhance economic opportunities 
for women, including programs and policies to— 
(1) promote women’s ability to start micro, 
small, or medium-sized business enterprises, and en-
able women to grow such enterprises, particularly 
from micro to small enterprises and from small to 
medium-sized enterprises, or sustain current busi-
ness capacity; 
(2) promote the rights of women to own, man-
age, and inherit property, including land, encourage 
adoption of laws and policies that support the rights 
of women to enforce these claims in administrative 
and judicial tribunals, and address conflicts with 
customary laws and practices to increase the secu-
rity of women’s tenure; 
(3) increase women’s access to employment, en-
able women to access higher quality jobs with better 
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remuneration and working conditions in both infor-
mal and formal employment, and improve the qual-
ity of jobs in sectors dominated by women by im-
proving the remuneration and working conditions of 
those jobs; and 
(4) bring the benefits of international trade pol-
icy to women in developing countries and ensure 
that trade policies and agreements adequately reflect 
the respective needs of poor women and men. 
SEC. 3. MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE 
FOR WOMEN IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION; IMPLEMENTATION; TARGETED 
ASSISTANCE.— 
(1) AUTHORIZATION.—Section 252(a) of the 
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 
2211a(a)) is amended— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end 
before the semicolon the following: ‘‘, including 
specific activities to enhance the empowerment 
of women, such as leadership training, basic 
health and HIV/AIDS education, and literacy 
skills’’; 
(B) in paragraph (3)— 
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(i) by adding at the end before the 
semicolon 
the 
following: 
‘‘, 
including 
women’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(C) in paragraph (4)— 
(i) by adding at the end before the pe-
riod the following: ‘‘, including initiatives 
to eliminate legal and institutional barriers 
to women’s ownership of assets, access to 
credit, access to information and commu-
nication technologies, and engagement in 
business activities within or outside of the 
home’’; and 
(ii) by striking the period at the end 
and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(D) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(5) microfinance and microenterprise develop-
ment programs that— 
‘‘(A) specifically target women with respect 
to outreach and marketing; and 
‘‘(B) provide products specifically to ad-
dress women’s assets, needs, and the barriers 
women encounter with respect to participation 
in enterprise and financial services.’’. 
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(2) IMPLEMENTATION.—Section 252(b)(2)(C) 
of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 
2211a(b)(2)(C)) is amended— 
(A) in clause (ii)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘microenterprise devel-
opment field’’ and inserting ‘‘microfinance 
and microenterprise development field’’; 
and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(B) in clause (iii)— 
(i) by inserting after ‘‘competitive’’ 
the following: ‘‘, take into consideration 
the anticipated impact of the proposals on 
the empowerment of women and men, re-
spectively,’’; and 
(ii) by striking the period at the end 
and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
clause: 
‘‘(iv) give preference to proposals from 
providers of assistance that demonstrate 
the greatest knowledge of clients’ needs 
and capabilities, including proposals that 
ensure that women are involved in the de-
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sign and implementation of services and 
programs.’’. 
(3) TARGETED ASSISTANCE.—Section 252(c) of 
the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 
2211a(c)) is amended in the first sentence by adding 
at the end before the period the following: ‘‘, par-
ticularly women’’. 
(b) MONITORING SYSTEM.—Section 253(b) of the 
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211b(b)) is 
amended in paragraph (1), by inserting after ‘‘perform-
ance goals for the assistance’’ the following: ‘‘on a sex- 
disaggregated basis’’. 
(c) MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT CREDITS.— 
Section 256(b)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 
(22 U.S.C. 2212(b)(2)) is amended by adding at the end 
before the semicolon the following: ‘‘, with an emphasis 
on clients who are women’’. 
(d) REPORT.— 
(1) CONTENTS.—Section 258(b) of the Foreign 
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2214(b)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(12) An estimate of the potential global de-
mand for microfinance and microenterprise develop-
ment for women, determined in collaboration with 
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practitioners in a cost-effective manner, and a de-
scription of the Agency’s plan to help meet such de-
mand.’’. 
(2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—Section 258 
of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 
2214) is amended— 
(A) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub-
section (d); and 
(B) by inserting after subsection (b) the 
following new subsection: 
‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—All information 
in the report required by this section relating to bene-
ficiaries of assistance authorized by this title shall be 
disaggregated by sex to the maximum extent practicable.’’. 
SEC. 4. SUPPORT FOR WOMEN’S SMALL- AND MEDIUM- 
SIZED ENTERPRISES IN DEVELOPING COUN-
TRIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, acting 
through the Director of United States Foreign Assistance, 
shall— 
(1) where appropriate, carry out programs, 
projects, and activities for enterprise development 
for women in developing countries that meet the re-
quirements of subsection (b); and 
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(2) ensure that such programs, projects, and 
activities that are carried out pursuant to assistance 
provided under part I of the Foreign Assistance Act 
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) meet the require-
ments of subsection (b). 
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements referred to 
in subsection (a) are the following: 
(1) In coordination with developing country 
governments and interested individuals and organi-
zations, encourage or enhance laws, regulations, en-
forcement, and other practices that promote access 
to banking and financial services for women-owned 
small- and medium-sized enterprises, and eliminate 
or reduce regulatory barriers that may exist in this 
regard. 
(2) Promote access to information and commu-
nication technologies (ICT) with training in ICT for 
women-owned small- and medium-sized enterprises. 
(3) Provide training, through local associations 
of women-owned enterprises or nongovernmental or-
ganizations in record keeping, financial and per-
sonnel management, international trade, business 
planning, marketing, policy advocacy, leadership de-
velopment, and other relevant areas. 
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(4) Provide resources to establish and enhance 
local, national, and international networks and asso-
ciations of women-owned small- and medium-sized 
enterprises. 
(5) Provide incentives for nongovernmental or-
ganizations and regulated financial intermediaries to 
develop products, services, and marketing and out-
reach strategies specifically designed to facilitate and 
promote women’s participation in small and me-
dium-sized business development programs by ad-
dressing women’s assets, needs, and the barriers 
they face to participation in enterprise and financial 
services. 
(6) Seek to award contracts to qualified indige-
nous women-owned small and medium-sized enter-
prises, including for post-conflict reconstruction and 
to facilitate employment of indigenous women, in-
cluding during post-conflict reconstruction in jobs 
not traditionally undertaken by women. 
SEC. 5. SUPPORT FOR PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS AND 
LAND TENURE SECURITY FOR WOMEN IN DE-
VELOPING COUNTRIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, acting 
through the Director of United States Foreign Assistance, 
shall— 
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(1) where appropriate, carry out programs, 
projects, and activities for the promotion of private 
property rights and land tenure security for women 
in developing countries that— 
(A) are implemented by local, indigenous 
nongovernmental and community-based organi-
zations dedicated to addressing the needs of 
women, especially women’s organizations; and 
(B) otherwise meet the requirements of 
subsection (b); and 
(2) ensure that such programs, projects, and 
activities that are carried out pursuant to assistance 
provided under part I of the Foreign Assistance Act 
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) meet the require-
ments of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph 
(1). 
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements referred to 
in subsection (a) are the following: 
(1) Advocate to amend and harmonize statutory 
and customary law to give women equal rights to 
own, use, and inherit property. 
(2) Promote legal literacy among women and 
men about property rights for women and how to ex-
ercise such rights. 
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(3) Assist women in making land claims and 
protecting women’s existing claims. 
(4) Advocate for equitable land titling and reg-
istration for women. 
(c) AMENDMENT.—Section 103(b)(1) of the Foreign 
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151a(b)(1)) is amend-
ed by inserting after ‘‘establishment of more equitable and 
more secure land tenure arrangements’’ the following: ‘‘, 
especially for women’’. 
SEC. 6. SUPPORT FOR WOMEN’S ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT 
IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. 
The Secretary of State, acting through the Director 
of United States Foreign Assistance, shall, where appro-
priate, carry out the following: 
(1) Support activities to increase women’s ac-
cess to employment and to higher quality employ-
ment with better remuneration and working condi-
tions in developing countries, including access to in-
surance and other social safety nets, in informal and 
formal employment relative to core labor standards 
determined by the International Labor Organization. 
Such activities should include— 
(A) public education efforts to inform poor 
women and men of their legal rights related to 
employment; 
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(B) education and vocational training tai-
lored to enable poor women to access opportuni-
ties in potential growth sectors in their local 
economies and in jobs within the formal and in-
formal sectors where women are not tradition-
ally highly represented; 
(C) efforts to support self-employed poor 
women or wage workers to form or join inde-
pendent unions or other labor associations to 
increase their income and improve their work-
ing conditions; and 
(D) advocacy efforts to protect the rights 
of women in the workplace, including— 
(i) developing programs with the par-
ticipation of civil society to eliminate gen-
der-based violence; and 
(ii) providing capacity-building assist-
ance to women’s organizations to effec-
tively research and monitor labor rights 
conditions. 
(2) Provide assistance to governments and or-
ganizations in developing countries seeking to design 
and implement laws, regulations, and programs to 
improve working conditions for women and to facili-
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tate their entry into and advancement in the work-
place. 
SEC. 7. TRADE BENEFITS FOR WOMEN IN DEVELOPING 
COUNTRIES. 
In order to ensure that poor women in developing 
countries are able to benefit from international trade, the 
President, acting through the Secretary of State (acting 
through the Director of United States Foreign Assistance) 
and the heads of other appropriate departments and agen-
cies of the Government of the United States, shall, where 
appropriate, carry out the following in developing coun-
tries: 
(1) Provide training and education to women in 
civil society, including those organizations rep-
resenting poor women, and to women-owned enter-
prises and associations of such enterprises, on how 
to respond to economic opportunities created by 
trade preference programs, trade agreements, or 
other policies creating market access, including 
training on United States market access require-
ments and procedures. 
(2) Provide capacity building for women entre-
preneurs, including microentrepreneurs, on produc-
tion strategies, quality standards, formation of co-
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