Why ask about gender, race, and ethnicity?
The SBO is the only source of statistics about the demographic characteristics of the approximately 23 million American business owners and self-employed persons, including their business organizations and activities. SBO statistics have been produced every 5 years since 1972, and have proven useful in helping to understand changes taking place in our dynamic and growing economy. SBO results have helped to profile census-to-census changes in business performance, highlight conditions of business success and failure, and compare minority-/nonminority- and women-/men-owned businesses.
