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Hispanic women lead in minority ownership
By John
Burke • Bankrate.com
 Hispanic
females lead the parade of a growing number of businesses owned
by minority women, according to a study by the Center
for Women's Business Research.
"Minority Women-Owned Businesses in the United
States, 2002," which uses U.S. Census Bureau data, reveals
that the number of businesses owned by women of color exceeds all
women-owned firms and the national average.
As of this year, there are an estimated 1.2 million
businesses owned by women of color in the United States. These companies
employ more than 822,000 people, generating an estimated $100.6
billion in sales.
Based on further breakdown of ownership, the Center
estimates that Hispanic women own almost half a million of the firms.
African American women are next in the ownership ranks, followed
by women of Asian or Pacific Islander heritage and Native American
or Alaska Native heritage.
Minority-women ownership outpaces
other growth
The study estimates that between 1997 and 2002 the number
of privately-held, majority-owned minority-women-owned firms will
have grown by 31.5 percent. This outpaces the 14.3 percent growth
rate among all women-owned firms, the 29.7 percent rate among all
minority-owned firms and the 6.8 percent growth of all U.S. firms.
Businesses owned by women of color represent about
one-third of all of the firms owned by persons of color, and one
in five women-owned firms is owned by a woman or women of color,
according to the report.
"Women of color continue to start businesses
at a faster rate than other women and all businesses," said
Nina McLemore, chair of Center for Women's Business Research and
President of Regent Capital. "The number of minority women-owned
firms increased more than twice as fast as all women-owned firms
and more than four times the national average.
"Further, based on recent growth rates, in 2002
there will be 14,116 minority women-owned firms with revenues of
$1 million or more, and 111 with 100 or more employees."
Other major findings of the report include:
- Fifty-eight percent of minority women-owned firms
are in the service sector. Other industries with the greatest
growth were transportation/communications/public utilities (21
percent), and agriculture (7 percent).
- The states home to the greatest number of minority
women-owned firms are: California, New York, Texas, Florida, Illinois,
Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia and North Carolina.
- The states with the fastest growth in the number
of minority women-owned firms from are Montana, North Dakota,
Maine, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Idaho,
New Hampshire and Alaska.
- The states where minority women-owned firms
comprise the greatest share of all women-owned firms are Hawaii
(60 percent); District of Columbia (40 percent); California (35
percent); New Mexico and New York (tied at 32 percent); Texas
(29 percent); Maryland and Florida (tied at 28 percent); Alaska,
Georgia and Oklahoma (tied at 24 percent).
-- Posted: Sept. 13, 2002
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