Good News For Businesses Owned By Women & Minorities

New research holds promising news for female and minority business owners. SCORE, which works with small businesses and entrepreneurs, has released an infographic showing that women-owned businesses are growing at 1.5 times the national average. Meanwhile, the number of women-owned businesses has risen 67.8% since 1997, compared to 34.4% for companies owned by men. The 9.1 million businesses owned by women in the U.S. have a high concentration in the health care, social assistance, and education industries, and are outpacing male-owned companies in terms of employment rates and revenue. Between 1997 and 2014, women-owned firms saw an 11% increase in employment rate and a 72.3% growth in revenue. For men, the employment rate increased by 6.5%, with revenues rising 45.1%. Over the same period, the number of businesses owned by women of color has grown from 1 million to 3 million, an increase of 215.7%. Latino-owned businesses are also gaining momentum, growing at twice the national average. As of 2014, there were 3.22 million Latino-owned firms, compared to 1.57 million in 2002. The infographic below breaks down the impressive growth in greater detail. Folks, give yourselves a pat on the back.