Minority Women Adding Businesses Faster Than Men - Building Gender Balanced Business

• The number of minority women-owned businesses grew twice as fast as the number of businesses created by male minority entrepreneurs and non-minority men and women, according to the US Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency.

• From 1997 to 2002, the number of firms with at least 51 per cent minority female ownership increased 57 percent, against 31 per cent for minority male-owned firms.

• Firms owned by women who are Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander led, with an 84 per cent growth rate, followed by African-American women, at 75 per cent. Hispanic women-owned businesses increased 60 per cent, Asian women-owned businesses by 40 per cent.

• Businesses owned by minority females add more workers than other firms, with their acceleration rate in employment rising 16 per cent vs flat for non-minority female businesses.

• Minority women tend to open more franchises than their start-up peers.

• But of all subcategories studied, only Asian male entrepreneurs were at parity with their non-minority counterparts on a per capita basis in terms of number of businesses, gross receipts and employees.

The full report