2008 National Symposium

Businesses owned by women of color constitute one of the fastest growing segments of the United States economy, with minority women starting new firms at five times the rate of all other businesses. However, the average revenue of these businesses is less than 25% of that of businesses owned by their White counterparts. At our 2008 National Symposium, Research to Roadmap, we announced the preliminary research findings from our three-year study Accelerating the Growth of Businesses Owned by Women of Color, on May 6 7, 2008, at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, DC. We engaged leaders from all sectors in assessing the implications of the research findings for collaboratively building a roadmap to a climate of economic opportunity for this vital segment of the small business sector.