IMMIGRATION POLICY CENTER

A M E R I C A N I M M I G R AT I O N CO U N C I L

SPECIAL REPORT

SPECIAL REPORT

THE WOMEN
By Susan C. Pearce, Elizabeth J. Cliord, and Reena Tandon

OUR AMERICAN IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURS

DECEMBER 2011

OCTOBER 2011


OURAMERICANIMMIGRANTENTREPRENEURS:

THEWOMEN
(Adaptedfromthebook,ImmigrationandWomen:UnderstandingtheAmericanExperience (NewYorkUniversityPress,2011))

DECEMBER2011

SUSANC.PEARCE,PH.D. ELIZABETHJ.CLIFFORD,PH.D. REENATANDON,PH.D.

ABOUTSPECIALREPORTSONIMMIGRATION
TheImmigrationPolicyCentersSpecialReportsareourmostindepthpublication,providingdetailedanalysesof specialtopicsinU.S.immigrationpolicy.

ABOUTTHEAUTHORS
Susan C. Pearce is Assistant Professor of Sociology and Research Associate with the Center for Diversity and InequalityResearchatEastCarolinaUniversity. ElizabethCliffordisAssociateProfessorofSociologyatTowsonUniversity,wheresheisalsoDirectorofAmerican StudiesandCoordinatoroftheBaltimoreImmigrationSummit. Reena Tandon teaches South Asian Studies at University of Toronto and has been affiliated with Ryerson UniversitytoteachatSchoolofSocialWorkandtointegrateCurricularServiceLearningintheFacultyofArts.

ABOUTTHEIMMIGRATIONPOLICYCENTER
TheImmigrationPolicyCenter,establishedin2003,isthepolicyarmoftheAmericanImmigrationCouncil.IPC's mission is to shape a rational conversation on immigration and immigrant integration. Through its research and analysis,IPCprovidespolicymakers,themedia,andthegeneralpublicwithaccurateinformationabouttheroleof immigrants and immigration policy in U.S. society. IPC reports and materials are widely disseminated and relied upon by press and policymakers. IPC staff regularly serves as experts to leaders on Capitol Hill, opinionmakers, and the media. IPC is a nonpartisan organization that neither supports nor opposes any political party or candidate for office. Visit our website at www.immigrationpolicy.org and our blog at www.immigrationimpact.com.

INTRODUCTION
WhenAmericanspictureanimmigrantentrepreneur,theylikelyimagineamanwhobeganthe migrationofhisfamily,laterbringinghiswifeovertobecomeavolunteerassistantintheshop. This image is straying farther and farther from reality as more women open their own enterprises.Yettheideathatimmigrantwomenmightbetheownersandoriginatorsofsome of our restaurants, motels, Silicon Valley hitech firms, local realestate agencies, or other entrepreneurialventureshasyettobecomeconventionalwisdom. As awareness of this new reality grows, however, we must credit a number of foremothers. There are numerous examples of womens entrepreneurial startups throughout American history,illustratingthatentrepreneurialwomenwererightthere,activelyinthemiddleofthe game, at every stage of the American economys evolution. 1 These included both the immigrant and the nativeborn. Historian Barbara Howe has documented the businesses that immigrantwomen in nineteenthcentury West Virginia owned, ranging from boarding houses andgroceriestomillenaryshops,withforaysintofoodandbeverageproductionindustries. 2 Today,immigrantwomenentrepreneursaboundineveryregionoftheUnitedStates.Infact, thetenstateswherethemostimmigrantwomanownedbusinessesarelocatedincludestates ineachregionofthecountry. 3 ThetopthreecitiesareLosAngeles,NewYork,andWashington, DC.Severalbusinessesownedbyimmigrantwomenaremakingtheirwayintothelistsoftop grossing firms in arenas such as technology. According to the 2000 U.S. decennial census, 575,740foreignbornwomenwhoimmigratedasadultsreportedthattheywereselfemployed in their own incorporated or unincorporated businesses, which is the census category that researchersusetomeasureentrepreneurship. There was a notable rise in immigrant womens entrepreneurship rates between 2000 and 2010. Immigrantandnativebornwomensbusinessownershiprateswereroughlyequivalent in2000,at5percentofwomenwhowereemployedforeachgroup.By2010,accordingtothe AmericanCommunitySurvey,immigrantwomensentrepreneurshiprateshadgrowntomore than9percent,whilethenativebornwomensrategrewto6.5percent.Notonlyhadforeign bornwomenoutpacednativebornwomen,buttheirratesonlytrailforeignbornmenbyless than4percentagepoints. 5 In2010,40percentofallimmigrantbusinessownerswerewomen (1,451,091immigrantmenand980,575immigrantwomen).Thatsameyear,20percentofall womenbusinessownerswereforeignborn. 6 These numbers indicate that there is a quiet revolution of immigrant womens business ownershipthatisorganicallygrowing,butisgoingrelativelyunnoticedinthecultureatlarge. TheCenterforWomensBusinessResearchestimatedthatbusinessownershipforwomenof colorbothnativebornandforeignbornwasincreasingatsixtimestherateofownershipby other demographic groups during the first decade of the twentyfirst century. 7 Eduardo Figueros,acommunityorientedspecialistwhotrainsLatinosintheLosAngelesregioninentre
2
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preneurship to encourage selfempowerment,has noticed these trends firsthand. In 2007, he reported to us that he hadbeenseeingamajorgrowthinthenumberofwomen joining his seminars. In addition, Eduardo was noticing something quite new: women were gravitating toward businesses that have been considered atypical for women in the past. Fewer wanted to open food stands or sell handicrafts than in the past. Crossing the country to the East Coast, similar trends are evident. In a 2009 ethno graphic study of Latino shops known as tiendas in North Carolina, anthropologist David Griffith echoed this observationofthegrowingentranceofimmigrantwomen into business ownership. His study documented that as manyashalfofthesebusinesseswereownedbywomen. 8 RachelOwens,cofounderoftheOrangeCounty,California, chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners(NAWBO),offeredheroverviewofthechangesin bothnativebornandimmigrantwomensventures: At the beginning, it was middleaged white women, allintheserviceindustries.Aftersixteenyears,ithas been a metamorphosis. In the last ten years, the businesses are across the board: manufacturing, detective agencies, lawyers, CPAs, aerospace, machinery, and construction. In the last five years, there has been a definite growth in minority businesses:primarilyfortyyearsoldandunder;many arethirtyandunder.Ibelieveitseducation,accessto capital. What are some of these business owners stories? We asked women from a range of business sectors in several cities to tell us why and how they started their ventures, whatchallengestheyfaced,whattheirbusinessesmeanto them,andwhatcontributionstheyaremaking.

AnaMartinezsStory
Ana Martinez was selling tamalesonthecornerwhenshe discoveredMamasHotTamales Caf through its colorful tamale carts. Ana took advantage of the training program, including the kitchen where Mamas incubates new businesses. Like severalotherimmigrantwomen entrepreneurs we met, she was inspired by her mother and grandmother, who had owned their own stores, in which Ana had helped out as a child. She remembers seeing her mother withanapronfullofmoney,and thismadeherdeterminedtobe herownbossandmakeherown money. She now has her own cateringbusiness,specializingin tamales with Honduran ingredients,withasetofregular clientsandreportsmakingeight hundred to one thousand tamalesperday. She explained how she feels: Imreallyhappytobe myown boss[and]proudofmyself.She was also proud of the tamales, which she characterized as costing a little more, but they havegreatingredients:theyare very freshnot frozen. When we met her, she was in the process of buying a house. Her nextgoalistostartarestaurant; her eyes lit up as she told the storyofaCubanimmigrantwho started a restaurant with five hundreddollarsandnowownsa chain of restaurants. But she doesnotplantostopthere;she also hopes to get her products intosupermarkets.

EverythingThatMadeMeWhoIAmWas inMexico
First,whatledthesewomentoleavetheirhomecountry? JudithRodriguez,whoownsahomebaseddaycarecenter in Houston, first came to the United States in 1979. In recounting her story, she remembered,When you live in
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Mexico,andeveryonetalksabouttheU.S.,inyourminditsthepromisedland.Mycountryhas alotofpoorpeople.IsawadifferentwayoflivingwhenIcamehere.WhileinMexico,she waswatchinghermarriagedeteriorate,andherhusbandwasexhibitingsignsofabuse.Judith did not want to watch her children grow up to be like her husband. She realized, My kids needed me. This determination drove her to pick up and move her children with her to Chicagotolivewithacousin.Judithfoundtheexperiencetobedepressingatfirst,asshehad cutoffherownroots;sherecalled,EverythingthatmademewhoIamwasinMexico. Three entrepreneurs whom we interviewed were refugees who escaped Vietnam, two as a resultofthewarinthe1960sand1970sandtheothermorerecently.Anotherbusinessowner hadbeenlivingunderrepressivepoliticalconditionsinRomaniabefore1989.Morethanonce, women cited domestic violence. One had dared to initiate a divorce in her home country decades ago. Her decision did not sit well with her relatives. She recalled, Everyone in my familyhatedme.Therehadneverbeendivorceinthefamily. Whereas some of these women escaped trouble, several migrated for the educational opportunities and started businesses after establishing themselves professionally. A few of these women came specifically to set up their business. Although this was not the norm for mostofthem,itisnotablethatsomeentrepreneurialventureswerepreplanned,includingthat ofMariadeLourdesSobrino,whosestoryappearshere. Oncethesewomenarrived,theysetaboutputtingdownrootsandfiguringouthowtheywould survive in their new environment. Some worked lowwage jobs, others earned a college or graduatedegree,andafewtooktrainingclasses.ThosewhodidnotspeakEnglishjuggledthese newcommitmentswithEnglishclasses.JudithRodriguez,fromMexico,workedinachildcare centerfromseveninthemorningtofiveintheeveningeachdayandthenstudiedfromfive thirtytotenoclockatnightforherlicensetoopenherowncenter. Even those with professional training in their home country often found themselves underemployedintheUnitedStates.Oneformerteacherfoundherselfcleaninghousesafter she arrived, and another teacher scrubbed animal kennels and worked as a livein nanny for someyears.Thisisnotuncommon.RhacelParreassstudyofFilipinomigrantsfoundthatthe Philippines faced a teacher shortage, as teachers who emigrated made higher wages as domestic workers in other countries. 9 A woman with a strong educational background in Mexico who found herself waiting tables in the United States remembered, The hardest momentwaswhenIgotatip.Icried,becauseIfeltlikeabeggar.Itriedtogiveitback.They saidno,andtearscamedown.

IDidntWanttoPunchtheClock
Thedecisiontotaketheleapandopenabusinessisariskyone,eveninthewakeofclosedor partiallyblockeddoorsinotheravenues.Whatmadethesewomendecidetoembarkonsucha risk? For the Kelly sisters from Ireland, one motivation was the desire for schedule flexibility. After arriving in Los Angeles, they had each found work in the healthcare industry. But they wanted to raise children and spend time with their families. They also missed the lengthier
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QuincyNguyensStory
This young Vietnamese woman runs her own nail salon in Los Angeles while she simultaneously manages a dentalcrown lab and cares for her two small children. Since she fled Vietnam as a teenager without her family, she had to establish herself alone in theUnitedStates.Shetookajobin a nail salon because she was not requiredtoknowEnglishtodowell at the work. When her boss noticed that she spoke English, however, she insisted on promoting her to manager. That leap to a high level of responsibility, supervising thirty employees and managing all the finances, helped lead to her eventualdecisiontoopenherown shop. But Quincy recalls her trepidationatthisprospect: I looked at the newspaper, looked around, found this one, and said, Okay, lets open, but Im so scared. I need staff, etcetera... I bought it from another owner,butthatownertook alloftheemployeesandall the clients with her! It was tough! I dont know how they can treat people like that. AnAmericanfriendofQuincyshas been trying to convince her to partner up and open a second salon, but that was another prospect that frightened Quincy. The friend continues to encourage herthough,andshesaidthatwhen she argues with her friend, every time I use the scared word, she laughshard.

European vacations. Further, they looked around and noticed that it was the insurance brokers who were making the money, and they decided that it would be smart to capitalize on that discovery and become brokers themselves. They began observing brokers and cametoarealization:Hey,werebetterthanthem.... So we picked up the trade by literally going on appointments with brokers and listening to them going through medical and dental and 401(k) proposals. Today,AnneandDeirdreKellycannotstoptalkingabout how happy they are with their flexible schedules. The sisters integrate their commitment to family issues and needsbypromotingtheirbusinessasfamilyfriendlyfor theirclients. Arepeated,prominentstrandinthesewomensdecision to start their own business was the desire for independence. As one put it, I dont want to work for anybody.Ididntwanttopunchtheclock.Thiswoman, from Iran, started a hair salon. Others were shocked at the ways they were financially exploited by employers. Previous research has uncovered a pattern of migrants starting businesses to repair their damaged selfesteem fromunderemploymentandexploitation.Thiswaslikely true for several of these women. Childcarecenter ownerJudithrememberedhowroughlyshewastreated when she arrived from Mexico: Every day was getting harderandharder....Isaid,Imgoingtoswallowitand do what it takes to be here. From a supermarket cashier job, where she was required to memorize the price of every product on the shelves, to poorly paying temporary jobs, to thirteen years of waiting tables in restaurants while she completed her education, Judith wasdeterminedtohavesomethingdifferent. Itwouldbeeasytomaketheassumptionthatitwasthe inspiration of independent women in the United States that helped stimulate these womens courage to open their business. Interestingly, however, and more than once, the women reflected on the inspiration that they received from particular women in their family back home who were business owners. They spoke of these women as people they admired for their strength and independence. Vietnamese restaurant owner Trang Ngyuen learned her cooking skills from her mothers
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restaurant.HealthcarebusinessownerShirleyNathanPulliam,fromJamaica,remembered,I always wanted to start my own business. In Jamaica, she observed her aunt, a successful restaurantownerwhoraisedherduringseveralyearsofherchildhood.Shirleysmotherbegan ahumbleclothingbusinessandlaterbecamethemanagerofalargedepartmentstore.Infact, womens entrepreneurship is traditionally central to a number of culturesand economies across the world. One estimate is that African women produce 80 percent of food grown on their continent, Asian women produce 60 percent, and Latin American women produce 40 percent.Manywomenalsoselltheirproduceinthemarketandthusaremerchantsaswellas producers. 10 The desire for challenge was also common among these entrepreneurs. Los Angeles resident DeniseDavies,aCanadian,ranaschoolinPakistanformanyyears.WhileinPakistan,shebegan collaboratingwithanentrepreneurialfriendtoofferconsultingservicesforbusinesses.Asthe World Wide Web was taking off in the West, Denise became fascinated with the idea of capitalizing on the potential for the Internet to boost her consulting business. She eventually relocatedtoLosAngelestoestablishhernewcompany. Frustrationanddisappointmentwiththeconventionalworkplacecertainlymotivatedmanyof thesewomen,butthiswasnottrueofall.Severalofthesewomen,forexample,receivedtheir encouragement from supervisors in their workplace to go out on their own. In each of these cases,thosesupervisorsweremen.Oneoftheseentrepreneurs,AngelaChan,isawomanwith astrongworkethicthatservedherwellinherformerworkplace.Hersupervisorrealizedthat shehadtheabilitytorunherowncompany.Angelarecalledhowlittleconfidenceshehadearly on,asshespokebrokenEnglishandwasafraidofpublicspeaking.Eventually,shefoundherself turning a company that was losing money into a profitable one, and the Securities and ExchangeCommissioninterviewedhertolearnhowshewasdoingit.

IWasInvisibletotheBanks:TheQuestforCapital
Ifaccesstocapitalisonekeytogettingabusinessofftheground,howdidthesewomengarner theresourcesthattheyneeded?Theyfoundtheirresourcesthroughvarioustypesofcapital. 11

EconomicCapital
Someofthesewomendidnotneedeconomiccapitaltostarttheirbusiness.GhanabornEsther Armstrong, for example, found herself the guardian of a collection of African clothing left by importers who had brought it for sale. She started selling the clothing in flea markets and eventuallysetupshop.Butmostwouldnothavegottentheirbusinessoffthegroundwithout funds.Severaldidsosolelyfromsavingsbutthosesavingswerenotalwaysbuiltfromhigh wagework.AnaMartinez,ownerofatamalecateringbusinessintheLosAngelesarea,used savingsfromherownindependenttamalesellingtostartherbusiness. Repeatedly,however,theentrepreneurstoldstoriesofhowdifficultthiscapitalwastocome by.Whentheyappliedforloans,asonesaid,itwasasifIwasnonexistenttothebanks.And asanotherentrepreneursaid,Womenareintheserviceindustries.Nooneisgoingtofundthe
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serviceindustries.Yetanotherechoed,Whenyouresmall,theywonthelpyou!Mariade LourdesSobrino,ownerofLulusDesserts,recalled,HadIhad[capital]fromthebeginning,I could have done it faster. I had to start small, reinvest, reinvest. The credit on my small businessloanhadaveryhighinterestrate.Ihadnopartners,noventurecapital. Since Rubina Chaudhary had a difficult time finding startup funds from banks, she used her ownsavingsthatshehadbuiltfromherearnings.Yeteventhisbackupstrategycamewitha downside:whensheapproachedtheSmallBusinessAdministrationaboutapotentialloan,they scrutinizedthesourceofthefundsthatshealreadyhad.Shewastakenaback:Iwastheone who had earned that! The banks and the SBA all asked, Do you have the capacity to run a business? Where will your startup capital come from? I couldnt get a credit line. I had to createcredit:borrowthemoneyandpayitoff.Ironically,thebankthatrefusedtogiveRubina anaccountinthebeginningamajornationallyknownbankistodaydoingsomersaultsto getherasaclient,shereported. Entrepreneurs frequently found themselves in a Catch22. Those starting businesses in fields that are atypical for women reported that they ran into any number of gender barriers in gettingofftheground.Ontheotherhand,womengoingintothosefieldsthataretypicalfor womensuchasserviceindustrieslearnedthatthebankshadnointerestininvesting.Credit historieswhicharechallengingtoestablishbothforimmigrantsandforwomeningeneral arecriticalforthosewhoneedstartupcapital.

SocialCapital
Asaresult,theneededcapitaloftencameviaasecondtypeofcapital,whichissocialcapital: these women listed a host of friends, associations, networks, husbands, sisters, parents, and colleagueswhohadhelpedthemgettheirbusinessstarted.Whensuchindividualswereableto offerinformalloans,itwasclearlythesocialcapitalthatprovidedthekeymeansofaccessto financial capital. Admittedly, menand the nativebornrely on social capital for the same reasons, but they are going to be less reliant on these informal sources than foreignborn womenwillbe. At the more formal level of social capital, womens business associations proved to be invaluabletosomeofthesenewenterprises.Amongtheassociationsthattheylaudedwasthe Orange County, California, chapter of the National Business Womens Association (NAWBO). NAWBO offers workshops and networking meetings and places a strong emphasis on stimulating entrepreneurship. The resources of the Small Business Association were a key resourceforseveralwomeninterviewedhere,especiallyinlandinginitialwork. 12 Yetfewofthe womenweinterviewedtookadvantageofsetasidesgovernmentpreferenceprogramsfor contractorsorspecialloanstowomenorminorityownedbusinesses.Atleastonesaidthat in hindsight, she wishes she would have done so, perhaps if more information had been availableaboutsuchprogramsatthetime. Theavailabilityofsuchprogramsatthestatelevelhasbeendeclining,bothasaresultofpublic resistancetothemandfederalrequirementsthattheprogramsmustdemonstratestatistically
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thecontinuedexistenceofdiscrimination.Atthefederallevel,setasideshavebeenearmarked forethnicdiversity,notforgenderdiversity.Thefederalgovernmentwasslowtomoveforward onaproposedsetasideprogramforwomen,whichCongresspassedin2000.Thegovernment finallyactedonthisbillin2008,butwithaveryrestrictednumberofcontractsandlimitedto only a few industries. This announcement irritated women business owners, who were vocal about their disappointment, as they represent onethird of business ownership in the United States. 13

CulturalCapital
Surprisingly, the women we interviewed did not mention one of the most common forms of capitalthatimmigrantentrepreneursusuallyhave:ethnicassociationsformedbymembersof theirhomenationality.Whynot?Mightgenderplayarolehere?TheLosAngelessalonowner PariSayeri,forexample,complained,IdidnthavetimetogotoallofthoseIranianmeetings andsitaround.Betweenthetimepressuresoffamilycommitmentsandstrugglingtoearnan income,perhapswomenarenotfindingthatethnicassociationsareuniversallyfillingthebill. Twowomenwhostartedtheirowncateringbusinessreceivedtheirtrainingthroughanotfor profit venture, Mamas Hot Tamales Caf in Los Angeles. Although this is not an ethnic associationperse,itisaventurethatis,forobviousreasons,popularamongLatinAmericans. Initiated by former community organizer and thirdgeneration Mexican immigrant Sandi Romero, the cafs mission is to help immigrants move from the informal to the formal economy.Inhersunny,colorful,streetlevelrestaurant,Sandiservestamalestothelocallunch crowdandtrainspeopletomakeandselltamalesasstreetvendorsandcaterers. Despitetheabsenceofsupportfromethnicassociationsinthesewomenslives,theyreported theimportanceofsomeformofculturalcapital.AnexamplewasthoseaffiliatedwithMamas, whoaretappingintotheresourceoftraditioninordertotransformitintoacommodity.Thisis oneofthemorestandardtypesofimmigrantentrepreneurshiptakingadvantageparticularly ofthemarketsthatcoethnicsoffertoservethecuisineorotherproductsthatcharacterizetheir community.Buttheseentrepreneursonlystartedwiththoseethnicmarkets;eventually,they innovated their products and services to allow them to reach beyond those markets. Researchersnotethatsuchexpansionisnecessarytokeepabusinessinagrowthmode. 14 ARomanianbornbedandbreakfastowner,Elisabeta, 15 oncestartedafoodboothwhileliving inCanada,inventingherownfastfoodrecipesthatcombinedRomaniancookingwithCanadian preferences.ShelearnedthatCanadianswouldeagerlylineupatthelunchcounterforthese unusualmorsels.AnotherexamplecomesfromEstherArmstrong,whorarelysellsherimported GhanaianclothingtootherAfricans,astheycanacquirethesameitemsatlowerpricesontrips home. But she has attracted a clientele of African Americans who are rediscovering their heritage, and her business spikes around certain holidays, such as African Heritage Day in February. On one Sunday during Black History Month, some local churches celebrate African heritage through their attire. Firoza Diddee, with a medicaltranscription business, reported, Mybusinessknowsnoraceorboundaries....Mybusinessandserviceneededaccesstothe broaderpopulation.
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LifeasaBusinessOwner
These women spoke of their challenges, the varied life circumstances that led them to their current paths, and the eventual financial rewards. Most of these businesses now provide steady incomes for their owners, as well as forahostofemployeesbothforeignandnativeborn. Several,however,articulatedamorequalitativemeaning totheirworkastheyreflectedontheirexperiences.Rocio Ramirez, for example, spoke of her integration into U.S. societyasshemovedtowardtheabilitytosupportherself independently. A recipient of Mamas Hot Tamales Caf training, she moved from making and selling handicrafts toowningatamalescateringbusiness.Shehadmovedto theUnitedStatestobewithaboyfriend,whomshelater marriedbuteventuallydivorced.Shefoundherselfraising twoteenagers,includingonewhoisautistic.Sherecalled, Before,itwasvery,verydifficult.Itismuchbetternow.I can drive; now Im a citizen, and I can buy a house. My sonisinaspecialprogram.Rocioproudlyreportedthat shemakesonethousandtamalesperdayintwentyfive tothirtyflavors. For civil engineer Xui Li, whose firm designs and builds bridges, business ownership gave her the opportunity to exercisebothhermanagementandherengineeringskills. AfterreceivingherengineeringdegreefromanAmerican university, she began her career as an employee for a largefirm.Shebegantorealizethattherewasnofuture for her in her company, even though she felt that the quality of her work was higher than that of her supervisors.Shereflectedonherownabilitiestolearn:I am a hard worker; I pick up fast. Once she went into business for herself, she was able to live up to her own potential. As she remembered, I did it on my own, thoughIhadapartneratfirst,whowastheonepushing me.Igotonebridgedesignproject,soIstartedwiththat. Ithenstartedtogetfederalwaterprojects.Ididntwant to do one bad job. She is currently juggling five federal contracts,hassevenpermanentstaffmembers,andhires asteadynumberoftemporarycontractorsinthefield. YolandaVoss,presidentofherownfashiondesignstudio and showroom in Columbia, Maryland, migrated from
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RubinaChaudharysStory
Indianborn Rubina Chaudhary started her business on a dare. She had begun to use her newly minted MBA degree to run training seminars on business skills for other professionals, and one day, one of her clients from these seminars dared her to start her own firm. She took the dare and built an engineering company. Today, she runs the businesssideofthefirm,andher husband, an engineer, works for her firm, MARRS Services. She spoke about her eventual path as one that has a broader meaning than simply bringing home a steadypaycheck.Sherecalledthat when she was earning her MBA, oneofherprofessorsadmonished her to figure out whats your reasonforbeing. Today,Rubinasofficebuzzeswith activityemployees walking in and out, stopping for a coffee in thebreakroom.Withsuccesshas come that sense of purpose to whichRubinasbusinessprofessor hadalluded:Itwasthesheerjoy of seeing an opportunity and going after it. With thirtyseven employees across three offices, Rubina spoke proudly of her firm as a place to build opportunities for other people: I help people grow, then my company grows. I have encouraged valuable employees to go elsewhere to furthertheircareers.Yetwehave an excellent return rate. I have twosetsofclients:myemployees andmyclients,andifImeettheir needs, my company will grow. MARRS continues to expand and winawards.

Ecuadorin1962withthedreamofbecomingafashiondesigner.Sheimmediatelybegantaking coursesinherfieldandestablishingapprenticeshipswithmentorswhomsheadmired.Herbig break,whichencouragedhertocontinuepursuinghercareerpath,wasthedaythatFirstLady Betty Ford took notice of one of Yolandas coat designs and purchased it for herself. At the beginning of building her business, however, Yolanda simultaneously endeavored to pass on thetradetoyoungergenerationsbyholdingclassesforstudentsinthebasementofherhome. Thus, the pursuit of herown dream was, from the beginning, tied up with helping others to achievetheirdreams.Today,sheisahighlyregardedmemberofhercommunity. Shirley NathanPulliam decided to open group daycare facilities for the elderly and disabled afterobservingtheconditionsoffacilitieswhereherpatientsresidedwhenshewasworkingas a nurse. She had also desired more autonomy in her work. She wanted to open a place that people could come to and enjoy their surroundings. She envisioned a bright, cheerful environment where the elderly and disabled were truly cared for and comforted. Today, her twobusinesses,NathanNetworksandExtendedFamilyAdultDayCare,bringinhalfamillion dollarsperyear.Shirleyspokeofthatinternaldrivethatshecontinuestofeelandthatkeeps hermotivated:Soitsjustthatinnerpassionanddrivethatyouwanttoseepeoplehappy,and whenIwalkinmycenterwhetheryoureAlzheimers,whetheryouhadastroke,whetheryou havedementia,whateveryourproblemisIcomealivewhenIwalkinandhearthepatients talking. Sheela Murthy, from India, echoed the passion motive. After completing her degree at Harvard and working for a large law firm, she made the decision to go out on her own. She reflected, Alwaysformewasadrivingpassionandaburningpassiontochangetheworld, and I think in the world of immigration law when we help clients . . . its individualliveswerechanging....Andmanyofthemsendmoneybacktotheir homecountries,sonowyourehelpingtheworldeconomy. 16 MariaSobrinobeganherentrepreneuriallifeinthetravelbusinessinMexico.Afterexpanding the business to Los Angeles, however, the Mexican peso collapsed. She looked around in the United States and noticed the absence of a particular comfort food that Mexican children enjoyed three times a day: flavored gelatins, or gelatinas. Maria began experimenting with samples, and her friends encouraged her to produce them and to name the business Lulu, which is her nickname. She remembered, Whatever you do, you need to love it.... Do you knowhowmanypeoplelaughedatmyideaofhavinggelatinasandsellingthemwithalittlejar three hundred cups a day that I was doing? Today we sell about fifty million cups a year of gelatin,andwedistributetosupermarkets. 17 AyoungThaiwoman,LuckPongsamart,gotherbusinessoffthegroundalmostovernight.She happenedtonoticethataChineserestaurantinalocalshoppingcenterwasabouttogooutof business. Luck took her savings and bought the restaurant. She closed the facilities down for oneweek,didsomebasicrenovations,practicedcookingasetofThairecipes,andimmediately
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opened her new place. Her restaurant, set in a convenient corner of a shopping center and decoratedwithoriginalartfromhersecondbusinessasanartdealer,hasgrownweeklysince. Other entrepreneurs spoke of intangible contributions of their business to their community. Pari Sayeri, from Iran, owns her own hair salon, which she built through years of hard work while also raising a family. Today, the hair salon has a family feel to it: Iranian immigrants, amongothers,formasteady,loyalclientele.Aglasscasethatdisplaysdecorativeobjectsfrom Iranadornstheshop,givingitanunusualfeelforasalon.Paridescribesitasawarmplace: Everybody comes here, has a coffee, a cookie, they say they love me. It keeps me busy. Repeatedly,thewomenspokeoftheirprideininspiringandtrainingotherwomentoowntheir ownbusiness.Denise,forexample,nowhasagrowndaughterwhohasopenedherownfirm.

TheFirstTwoYearsWereHell
None of these enterprises has grown without challengesand many were quite serious. Pari Sayeris first hair salon was located in the popular Century City shopping complex in Los Angeles.Foryears,shesuccessfullyranhersalon,andherpopularitygrew.Oneday,however, Parilearnedthatshewasbeingbootedout.Theshoppingcomplexwasrenovating,updating, andupscaling.Assheputit,Itwastherichpeopleversusthenormalpeople.Parifoughtto trytokeepherspaceinthecomplex,butshelostherbattle.Outofspite,shesimplyreopened hersalondirectlyacrosstheboulevardfromtheoriginalcomplex,butshekeptthesamename: CenturyCityHairDesign,withboldsignagefacingdirectlyacrosstheboulevardmeantforthe eyes of the shoppingcomplex owners. Pari expected a lawsuit, but one never came. She proudly kept the name and is still operating today. Other entrepreneurs reported how tough theirinitialyearshadbeen:Thereweremoredownsthanups;Thefirstfiveyearswerevery, veryhard;Wegrewourownbusinessonourmistakes,notoursuccesses....Thefirsttwo yearswerehell. Challengesdidnotendafterthebusinesswasofftheground.Judith,whorunsthehomebased childcarecenter,fightswithinspectorsandregulatorsandfindsherselffrequentlyfrustrated by contradictions within the rules. Ana Martinez reported that she also had to get a lot of permissionfromalotofpeopletostartthetamalebusinessandthatrentisveryhighinthe LosAngelesarea. Often,thesebusinessownersranintoobstaclesthatwereclearlyrelatedtotheirrace,nativity, and/orgender.Sinceeachoftheseindividualswouldnothavegottenwheretheyarewithouta personality characterized by positive attitudes and hope, it is significant to note such complaintsas:Thereisalwaystheproblemofracism.Evenifitissubtle,itisalwaysthere; Imjustanumber;Fewwomenhavebigempires.Menstillhavethelionsshare.Thislast comment is confirmed by statistics. The loan programs available for women and minority owned businesses are primarily for companies that need less than fifty thousand dollars in startup funds. 18 Additionally, among all the startup capital that is invested in the United States,onlyasliverisinvestedinwomensenterprises;in2006,only3percentofallventure capitaldollarswenttowomenownedbusinesses.ErinAbrams,writingintheonlinepublication The Glass Hammera reference to the glass ceiling, the barrier to womens rise to top
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positions in businesshas asked why the typical recipients of venture capital continue to be male. 19 AvividexampleofstereotypingwasofferedbythesuccessfulattorneySheelaMurthy,whois notoneto whineaboutproblems. Onedaysheinvitedabrokertoherofficetoconsultwith himaboutinvestinghercompanysprofits.Astheymet,thisbrokerrepeatedlyaskedher,Who reallyownsthiscompany?towhichSheelareplied,Ido.Thebrokerkeptasking,however, No,whoreallyownsthiscompany?AndSheelakeptinsisting,Ido.Asbothpartiesrepeated themselveswithincredulity,Sheelasnamewasclearlyvisible:MurthyLawFirmwasetched prominentlyacrosstheglasswindowsanddoorsoftheofficewheretheymetastheycarried outthiscircularexchangeofmisfiringwords.

Contributions
Howisallthisentrepreneurialenergyaffectingtheeconomyandsociety?Itisnearimpossible tocalculateatotalmonetarygainfrombusinessstartups,calledamultipliereffect,including jobs created, tax revenues generated, consumer activity, homes purchased, interest paid, tuitioncontributed,charitiessupported,neighborhoodsstabilized.Untilrecently,theregularly administered national Economic Census did not collect data on business owners nativity, resultingintheabsenceofhardnumbersregardingbusinessrevenueandjobcreation. 20 From the reports of these entrepreneurs, however, we can glean that such benefits are broad and rangewidely. Forexample,SheelaMurthysfirmgeneratesfourtofivemilliondollarsperyear,employsmore than seventy individuals in her Baltimore office (most of whom are nativeborn), and has opened a branch office in India. In the late 1990s, the Baltimore Business Journal named Sheelasfirmasoneofthetoptwentyfivewomenownedbusinessesinthearea.Acrossthree yearsinarow,from2007to2009,SheelareceivedtheaccoladeofaMarylandSuperLawyer bySuperLawyersmagazine. RubinaChaudharymanagesmultimilliondollarpubliccontractsandconsultswithlargepublic andprivateclients.MariadeLourdesSobrino,ofLulusDesserts,runsa$9.2millionbusiness, operatesafactory,andhiresteamsofemployeestomanagemarketing,sales,anddelivery.She hasalsowrittenabookhighlightingthestoriesofLatinaentrepreneurstoinspireothers.Angela Chanmovedfromworkinginacompanywithjustovertwentyemployeestorunningabusiness withtwentyfivehundredemployeessinceitopenedin2001;thecompanymakestwomillion wheels in the United States and manages five manufacturing plants in China. Trang Nguyen, owneroftherestaurantSaigonRemembered,proudlyreportedthatshetrainsheremployees toopentheirownrestaurants. On June 11, 2008, the National Archives in Washington, DC brought three of these entrepreneurs together for a public panel discussion on immigrant women in business ownership.ShirleyNathanPulliam,MariadeLourdesSobrino,andSheelaMurthywerejoined by home healthcare business owner Yolanda Maria Welch of Baltimore. At that time, this
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groupoffourwomenemployed224individualsacrosstheirfirms,illustratingthat,collectively, themultipliereffectasmeasuredbyjobcreationcouldbecalculatedastimesfiftysix. Theseentrepreneursareintensivelyinvolvedinphilanthropy.SheelaMurthy,forexample,set up a foundation to support childrens education in India and donates her companys used computerstopublicschools.RubinaChaudarymentorsinnercityyouthinLosAngelesandis establishing a notforprofit organization to expand her work. Ecuadorian fashion designer YolandaVosshostsregularfashionshowstobenefitamedicalclinic.Everyyear,sheprovides twelve internships in design and merchandising, which have totaled more than two hundred overhercareer. SalonownerPariSayerisendsalotofmoneytoIranforpoorchildrenandlocalschools.Thai restaurantownerLuckPongsamartsendsfundstoThailandtoprovideservicesforabandoned, mentallydisabledchildren.AngelaChanpersonallygivestoaTaiwanesefoundationforpeople victimizedbyearthquakesandotherdisasters;sheandheremployeesgivevolunteerhourstoa freehealthclinicinLosAngelesCounty,andtheygivefoodtoahomelessshelter.Suchefforts mirror trends that have been documented nationally: women and immigrants are known for higher levels (per capita) of giving to their communities than are men and the nativeborn. More than half of highnetworth women business owners (both native and foreignborn) contribute more than twentyfive thousand dollars annually to charity; 19 percent give one milliondollarsormore. 21 ShirleyNathanPulliamstraddlestheworlds ofbusinessandpolitics.A nativeofJamaicawho haslivedinMarylandsince1960andisthefounderoftwohealthcarebusinesses,shebeganto contribute to Blackempowerment initiatives in the 1970s. One of those was a local orga nizationattemptingtokeepBlackcreatedwealthinthecommunity,ontherealizationthatthe dollarstaysinourcommunityonlyovernight.Shirleyservedonthisorganizationsboardand, afterafewyears,decidedtorunforstatelevelpoliticaloffice.Afteronedefeat,sheranasa state assembly representative from a newly created district, won the election, and has been reelectedeversince.Today,sheisamongthemostpassionatedefendersofimmigrantrightsin theMarylandStateAssembly.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Aftersurvivingthechallengesthatbusinessownershipentails,thewomenprofiledherehave createdscoresofnewjobs,helpedstabilizeneighborhoods,createdproductsthatconsumers enjoy, built major infrastructure projects, and invested in a wide range of charitable social justiceprojects.Keenlyawareoftheadvantagesthatbusinessownershipbrings,thesewomen want to see an easier and more transparent process for their entrepreneurial successors. Amongtheiradviceandsuggestionsforimprovementwere: Makestartupcapitaleasiertoaccessandinlargeramounts. Removeorreformbureaucratichurdlestostartups.
13

Provideclearerinformationonlocal,state,andfederalregulations. Given the realities of discrimination, renew efforts to support setasides, based on genderaswellasnativityandrace. Continuetoaddressbarrierstowomenssuccessintheconventionalworkplace. Accelerate attempts to make it easier to balance paid employment with family demands.

Regarding the final two recommendations, many women start businesses after disappointments with discrimination in the conventional workplace, related to gender, race, age,ornativity.Andalthoughsuchnegativeexperienceshelptillthegroundfornewstartups, thisdoesnotimplythatsuchproblemsdonotneedreform.Moreconcertedattentiontoallof these matters would likely come about if more immigrant women were integrated into decisionmaking bodies related to startups, setasides, venture capital, and business associationsandwereselectedasleadersinthosebodies.

ImmigrationandWomen:
UnderstandingtheAmericanExperience
The popular debate around contemporary U.S. immigration tendstoconjureimagesofmenwaitingonthesideoftheroad forconstructionjobs,workinginkitchensordelis,drivingtaxis, and sending money to their wives and families in their home countries, while women are often left out of these pictures. Immigration and Women is a national portrait of immigrant women who live in the United States today, featuring the voicesofthesewomenastheydescribetheircontributionsto work,culture,andactivism. ThisbookisavailableforpurchasethroughNYUswebsite, http://nyupress.org/.

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Endnotes
1

JeanneHalladyCoughlinandAndrewR.Thomas,TheRiseofWomenEntrepreneurs:People,Processes,andGlobal Trends(Westport,CT:QuorumBooks,2000). BarbaraHowe,"ImmigrationasaFactorinNineteenthCenturyWomen'sEmploymentinWestVirginiaCities," ConferenceProceedingsforVTallerCientificoInternactionalMujeresenelSigloXXI(Havana:Universityof Havana,2003),p.18.

Accordingtothe2010AmericanCommunitySurvey,thetoptenstateswhereforeignbornentrepreneurial womenworkareCalifornia,NewYork,Florida,Texas,Illinois,NewJersey,Virginia,Georgia,Arizona,and Washington.ThetoptenmetropolitanareasareLosAngeles,NewYork,Chicago,WashingtonDC,Houston, OrangeCountyCA,SanFrancisco,Atlanta,SanDiego,andFortLauderdale. Thenationalprofileofimmigrantwomenbusinessownersfor2000isbasedupondatafromtheU.S.Census Bureauandothersources.Thedatainthisreportareconfinedtobusinessownerswhoareemployedatleast15 hoursperweekand14weeksperyear.Thiseliminatesentrepreneursinthemostinformalandleaststeady businesses.Althoughmanywomeninthisstudymaybethesoleemployeeoftheirfirms,itisimportanttoinclude thesesingleemployeeentrepreneursbecause1)theyarepotentialemployersinthefutureand2)theycontribute totheeconomybyrentingspace,payingsalestaxesandinterestonloans,andpurchasingrawmaterials. Horticulturalandveterinaryservicesareincludedasnonagriculturalindustries.Thisselectionofcategoriesfor immigrantselfemploymentfollowsthemethodologyofRobertW.Fairlie,AssociateProfessorofEconomicsatthe UniversityofCalifornia,SantaCruz,withonedifference.Fairlielimitedthedatatothosewhoworkatleast20 weeksperyear.Duetothedatasetusedhere,whichplacedweeksworkedintointervalsinwhich20was withinaninterval,ratherthanatitslowerlimit,weareusing14weeks. Thedatafrom2010weretakenfromtheIntegratedPublicUseMicrodataSeries,authoredbyStevenRuggles,J. TrentAlexander,KatieGenadek,RonaldGoeken,MatthewB.Schroeder,andMatthewSobek.IntegratedPublic UseMicrodataSeries:Version5.0[Machinereadabledatabase].Minneapolis,MN:MinnesotaPopulationCenter [produceranddistributor],2010.ItwasanalyzedwiththeIPUMSOnlineDataAnalysisSystem.Inordertoselect thecasesofwomenwhoimmigratedasadults,wecreatedavariablebysubtractingtheindividualsyearsinthe UnitedStatesfromtheirage,andtookallvaluesof18andabove.Inordertocalculatetherateofbusiness ownership,weusedthetotalnumberofemployedindividuals18andolder,regardlessofnumberofhoursworked perweekandweeksperyear.Someresearcherscalculateselfemploymentratesmorenarrowly,confiningitto thestandardworkingagepopulation,eliminatingtheretirementagepopulation.Weincludedallcasesthatwere age18andabove,giventhefluidityofretirementage. NativebornreferstoU.S.citizensbybirth,whetherbornintheU.S.,abroad,oratsea,andincludesthoseborn inPuertoRico.ImmigrantreferstobothnaturalizedU.S.citizensandnoncitizens.Immigrantsareoneofthe mostundercountedpopulationbytheCensusBureau;therefore,actualfiguresmaybeasmuchas510%higher (Conversationwithundercountspecialist,U.S.CensusBureau,December2004).Ouruseofcensusdatarequires caveats:Thecategoryofselfemployedmaynotreflectthetypeofnewbusinesscreationthattheterm entrepreneurshipoftenimplies;further,wedonotknowwhichbusinessesarejointlyownedwithother individuals.

WecautionthatthedecennialcensusandtheAmericanCommunitySurveyarenotstrictlycomparable,sinceone attemptstocountallU.S.residents,andtheothersurveysasample.Thisisthebestgaugeavailable,however,for showingrecentchangesovertime.

Foradditionalstatistics,seeSusanPearce,TodaysImmigrantWomanEntrepreneur(Washington,DC: ImmigrationPolicyCenter,AmericanImmigrationLawFoundation,January2005). Theratesfrom2000inthatreportvaryfromthesetosomeextent,duetotheuseofdifferentsamplesizes(1 percentwasusedforthatreportand5percentforthisreport);italsolimitedthesampletothosewhoworked20 weeksperyearasopposedto14weeksinthecurrentstudy(seeendnoteabove).Further,weconfinedthe populationinthiscurrentstudytothosewhoimmigratedasadults.

15

CenterforWomensBusinessResearch,MinorityReports, (http://www.womensbusinessresearch.org/minorityreports.html.) DavidGriffith,RicardoContreras,andEdKissam,CalidadyConfianza(Quality&Trust):LatinoEntrepreneurship inNorthCarolinaandBeyond.SecondLatinoLeadershipSummit.DavidGriffith'sKeynoteSpeakerPresentation. Greenville,NorthCarolina,June5,2009.

RhacelSalazarParreas,TheForceofDomesticity.TheForceofDomesticity:FilipinaMigrantsandGlobalization (NewYork:NewYorkUniversityPress,2008).

10

VeronicaGonzlezAguilar,Women'sParticipationinMicrofinance(Washington,DC:OfficeofAdvocacy,U.S. SmallBusinessAdministration,1999),(http://www.globenet.org/archives/web/2006/www.globenet.org/horizon local/ada/9905women.html.) Foodproducersmay,ofcourse,workforalandownerorothersupervisor,butinmanyareasoftheworld,women aretraditionallyinchargeoftheirownsubsistencefarms.

11

ThetypologyofvariousformsofcapitalistakenfromPierreBourdieu,Distinction:ASocialCritiqueofthe JudgementofTaste,translatedbyRichardNice(Cambridge,MA:HarvardUniversityPress,1987).

12

ThenumberofwomenreceivingSBAassistancemaybeoverrepresentedhereincontrasttothenational average,sinceitwasanSBArepresentativewhoprovidedthecontactsforthoseinterviews.Thisrepresentative, DonMitchell,losthislifesincetheseinterviewswereconducted,andwehonorhisspiritandcontributionhere.

13

ElizabethOlson,WomenBusinessOwnersSeekBetterAccesstoFederalContracts,NewYorkTimes,October 1,2008,p.C4.
14

CarnegieEndowmentforInternationalPeace,InternationalMigrationPolicyProgram,Immigrant Entrepreneurs,ResearchPerspectivesonMigration(1997)1:115,p.6. (http://www.migrationpolicy.org/files/RPMVol1No2.pdf) Italicizednamesarepseudonyms.

15 16

ExcerptedfromTheNationalArchives,CitizensbyChoice:WomeninBusinessLeadershippaneldiscussion (Washington,DC:TheNationalArchives,June112008).(http://www.archives.gov/nae/news/featured programs/citizenswomen/080611citizenspanel.pdf.)

17 18

Ibid.

PyongGapMinandMehdiBozorgmehr,USA:TheEntrepreneurialCuttingEdge,inRobertKoostermanandJan Rath,eds.,ImmigrantEntrepreneurs:VenturingAbroadintheAgeofGlobalization,edited(OxfordandNewYork: Berg,2003),pp.1738.

19

ErinAbrams,WomeninVentureCapital,TheGlassHammer,April14,2008. (http://www.theglasshammer.com/news/2008/08/14/womeninventurecapital/.) SeeSusanPearce,TodaysImmigrantWomanEntrepreneur(Washington,DC:ImmigrationPolicyCenter, AmericanImmigrationLawFoundation,January2005),p.11. Forananalysisoftheeconomiccontributions,includinghomeownership.Homeownershiphasadominoeffecton consumption,asthehomeownerpurchasesfurnishings,renovations,repairs,cleaningservices,landscaping,and otheramenities. http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/images/File/infocus/Immigrant%20Women%20Entrepreneurs.pdf)

20

21

CenterforBusinessWomensResearch,MinorityReports. (http://www.womensbusinessresearch.org/minorityreports.html.)

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