The Golden State is once again a nationwide leader in equality after ranking in the top 5 for women-owned businesses across the United States.
A new 2023 Wells Fargo Impact of Women-Owned Businesses report indicates that California is experiencing robust growth in women empowerment in the business industry across the state, including a burst among Hispanic/Latino women.
This is the first report to gather such data since 2019, before the global COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on businesses nationwide in early 2020.
Val Jones guides programs at Wells Fargo that empower women-owned businesses. In an interview with ChulaVistaToday, Jones stated that one of the main reasons why COVID-19 spiked women-owned business rates was the “necessity” factor during the pandemic. In difference with the recession 15 years ago, many women turned to other strategic ways of generating income when the global pandemic shut businesses down in 2020
“Latinas entrepreneurs went down 20% during the recession,” Val Jones told ChulaVistaToday.” However, when COVID-19 hit, it rose 14% when women started businesses out of necessity.”
Another contributing factor as to why women-owned business rates began booming during and post-pandemic was the second round of the Paycheck Protection Program(PPP) distribution. The PPP program introduced a progressive process of loan distribution.
Additionally, the Small Business Administration(SBA) and Treasury Department broadened the categories of financial institutions authorized to distribute PPP loans. In this case, Community development financial institutions(CDFIs) and other minority depository institutions with a history of empowering underprivileged businesses received the green light for capital to carry out PPP loans.
Currently, 12 million women-owned businesses make up 39.1% of businesses across the United States, particularly among women of color.
According to the data gathered in the new Wells Fargo report, Hispanic/Latino women saw an increase in robust growth regarding employment and revenue numbers. Wells Fargo found that Hispanic/Latino women expanded their market horizons by selling to consumers, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and more.
Regarding the Latina community, the number of businesses owned by Hispanic/Latina women has grown to 2,009,000 businesses, representing 14.3% of the total businesses owned by women across the country. These businesses constitute up to 42.3% of the overall business landscape among the Hispanic/Latino community in the U.S.
Moreover, the impact of these women-owned businesses on the U.S. economy is pivotal, as they generate up to $175.2 billion and employ over 845,000 people nationwide.
However, as encouraging as these numbers are for the Hispanic/Latino community, Val Jones tells ChulaVistaToday that the data could be even more vital if specific changes are made within the country’s economic system, mainly two changes.
According to the data provided by Val Jones, this particular demographic could contribute even more to the American economy if, for instance, Hispanic/Latino women eventually average the same revenue as White women in the U.S. If this were to happen, Hispanic/Latino women would add $269.0 billion in revenue to our national economy. And second, this same demographic would add $1.3 trillion in revenue to the economy if they were to average the same revenue as men. Hispanic/Latino women earn 65% as much as White men do in the United States.
Another systematic disparity that has become a barrier for Hispanic/Latino women-owned businesses is the lack of networking opportunities or social capital that can lead them to financial capital, expertise, and services.
Wells Fargo strategy consultant Val Jones also told ChulaVistaToday that women of underprivileged backgrounds are encouraged to look into unique opportunities designed to overcome systematic disparities. One of those opportunities is Wells Fargo’s Connect to More program, which allows women to create networking spaces and access various resources to help run a business.
Wells Fargo is a terrible bank! Run!!