Hispanic-American women are increasingly running their own businesses, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
“The share of women-owned firms was 34.4 percent among Hispanic businesses,” says the report, entitled Women-Owned Businesses in the 21st Century. That is a big jump in a 15-year time frame. Hispanic women’s share of all Hispanic businesses was 28.1 percent in 1997.
Minority women of all ethnicities accounted for more than half the recent increase in women-owned businesses, the report says.
Luz Andrade (shown here) owns El Pan De Adan Bakery in Wharton, New Jersey. Her business serves mostly Hispanics and has been thriving, she told the Associated Press. The population in Wharton is just over 40 percent Hispanic, according to the 2010 Census.