The statistics are remarkable and defy stereotypical notions about who Latinas are and the role we play in current U.S. society. Regardless of outdated and distorted perceptions about us as a group, the facts are incontrovertible.
For example:
788,000 Latinas now run their own businesses, according to the most recent Survey of Business Owners (last conducted in 2007). This represents a 46% increase against a 20% found across all female business owners over a five-year period. Their national background is Mexican (44%), Cuban (9%), and Puerto Rican (8%), also complemented by a myriad of Central and South American nationalities. In addition, the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce points out that:
Hispanic women-owned firms employ 18.5% of the workers in all Hispanic-owned firms and generate 16.3% of the sales Latinas control 39 percent of the 1.4 million companies owned by minority women in the United States, which generate nearly 147 billion in sales
Four in ten minority women-owned firms are owned by Latinas.
While these numbers tell part of the story, they do not explain what is behind these phenomenal growth rates. Equally compelling is the fact that Latinas are leaving corporate America in record numbers as well. What are the underlying dynamics that are impacting these patterns that can serve as lessons for organizations and for Latinas ourselves? READ MORE
Comments