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The Chronicle March 12, 2020 A3 Report: Companies owned by women of color account for 89% of all new women-owned businesses SUBMITTED ARTICLE BY STACY M. BROWN Crystal Etienne is a businesswoman, wife, and mother of two children. She’s also the founder of Ruby Love, a $10 mil lion personal care com pany that she built in just four years. “My dream was to al ways work for myself,” Etienne, a New York na tive, stated in an email to NNPA Newswire. “However, I did have thoughts about going to law school. Understand ing the political side of things, certain laws, and the rights of those around me always excited me, es pecially if I felt someone was wronged,” she said. “I ended up going a different route and landed a job in finance,” Etienne continued. “Math, equa tions, and anything that had to do with business was something I was al ways good at. It was my strong suit, which is ironic because I disliked ac counting and finance as a student.” But her dreams have come true, she said. “The end goal was to always work for myself,” Etienne stated. Etienne’s success helps to underscore a growing trend highlighted in the most recent State of Wom- en-Owned Businesses Report, which noted that women of color account for 89% (1,625) of the new businesses opened every day over the past year. The annual report, based on U.S. Census Bureau data adjusted by Gross Domestic Prod uct data, found that wom en-owned businesses con tinue to trend above all others. Over the past five years, the number ofwom- en-owned businesses in creased by 21%, while all enterprises increased by only 9%. Total employment by women-owned businesses rose 8%. At the same time, to all companies, the in crease was far lower at 1.8%, and total revenue for women-owned businesses also rose slightly above all others: 21% compared to 20%, respectively. The State of Women- Owned Businesses Report also found that as work has trended toward side hustles and the gig econ omy, so had female entre preneurship. Over the last five years, growth in the number of women “sidepreneurs” grew nearly twice as fast as the overall growth in female entrepreneurship: 39% to 21%. Minority women are responsible for a large portion of that growth from 2014-2019, where “sidepreneurship” among minority women-owned businesses was two times higher than others: 65% compared to 32%. When looking at spe cific minority groups over the last five years, growth in sidepreneurship is up 99% among African Amer ican women, compared to 70% for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders, 63% for Asian Americans, 46% for Latina/Hispanic worn-, en, and 36% among Native Americans/Alaska Native businesswomen. The report concluded that women of color are starting businesses at 4.5 times the average rate, and, in nearly every cat egory, women of color are leading the women-owned business charge. The rise in businesses owned by women of color could correlate to the pow er they’ve displayed at the ballot box. Since 2000, the number of eligible women of color voters has increased by 59% - a gain of more than 13 million potential vot ers, according to the Cen ter for American Progress (CAP). Black, Latina, Na tive American, multiracial, and Asian American, Na tive Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander women voters are emerging as a collective powerhouse, CAP officials stated. In CAP’s “Women of Color: A Powerhouse in the U.S. Electorate,” re port, authors Danyelle Solomon and Connor Maxwell used new survey data to explore the voter eligibility, electoral partic ipation, and distinct inter racial and intraracial poli cy perspectives of women of color. The report examined a host of issues from health care and economic in equality to public safety, racial and gender discrimi nation, and immigration. “In the past decade, the voter-eligible popula tion of women of color increased six times faster than that of white women, yet candidates, journalists, and policymakers rarely acknowledge their ability to affect elections,” stated Solomon, the vice presi dent of Race and Ethnicity Policy at the CAP, and co- author of the report. “Women of color are the canaries in the coal mine. When you center them in your policymaking agenda, outcomes for all Americans will improve. Continuing to ignore the policy priorities of this powerhouse of voters will only further undermine the health of our democracy and further exacerbate ra cial and gender inequali ties,” Solomon stated. “This report affirms what we already know: Women of color are an important - and growing - catalyst for change in our democracy,” said Ai mee Allison, the founder and president of She the People. Submitted photo According to the State of Women-Owned Business report, 89% of new businesses are opened by women of color. Are we putting our money behind our passion for Pre-K? Kelley Bendheim Director • Office of Early learning Executive Director • Project Impact Have a Story Idea? Let Us Know News@wschronicle. com Help us make high-quality Pre-K accessible to every 4-year-old in Forsyth County. Forsyth County parents, educators and community leaders agree—accessible, high-quality Pre-K better prepares children for kindergarten and future success in school, work, and life. Currently, Forsyth County local government invests $0 in Pre-K education. Help us change that. Convened by Family Services and supported by the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust. SIGN THE PLEDGE TODAY AT PreKPriority.org 00 #PreKProud THE PRE-K PRIORITY
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