From Deseret News archives:

Data needed on Utah minorities, women

By Archie Archuleta and Marco Diaz

Published: Thursday, Jan. 26, 2006 9:31 a.m. MST

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There has been much action and growth in these sectors without a mechanism to measure them. Ultimately, to harness and nurture this burgeoning demographic, we need to better understand how much they have grown and in what areas. The growth in the minority business sector is evidenced by a number of minority business organizations operating in Utah, including the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Utah Latin American Chamber of Commerce, the Ogden Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Asian Chamber of Commerce. Two more ethnic chambers are in the process of being formed: the Black and Pacific Islander Chambers of Commerce. In addition, the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce has a Multi-Ethnic Business Committee, and the Pete Suazo Business Center is in its fourth year serving the growing needs of the minority business population.

The growth in women-owned businesses is equally compelling. The Women's Business Center served more women business owners last year through counseling and training programs than ever before in its history. In 2004, the Center for Women's Research named Utah the number one state in the country in percentage growth of women-owned businesses.

In fiscal 2005, the Utah Small Business Administration made more loans to minority-owned businesses and women-owned businesses than ever in its history.

The Hispanic/Latino Legislative Task Force will be taking positions in several areas impacting our community during this session. We believe HB236 is a positive bill. Utah is an extremely entrepreneurial state. More than 80 percent of the state's businesses are small businesses. Small businesses continue to be the engine for Utah's economic expansion. Understanding the numbers, the industries and locations of the two fastest-growing segments of small business will greatly benefit the Utah economy as a whole. We encourage the Legislature to support this bill.

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Archie Archuleta and Marco Diaz are co-chairmen of the Hispanic/Latino Legislative Task Force. The task force is a bipartisan group of 30 Hispanic/Latino leaders who work on issues impacting the Hispanic/Latino community. This group is co-chaired by the chairmen of the Utah Republican Hispanic Assembly and the Utah Hispanic Democratic Caucus.