African-American Women Entrepreneurs Weigh in On US Election

African-American Women Entrepreneurs Weigh in On US Election

WASHINGTON—

Anne Segal remembers driving past the for-sale sign outside an ice cream shop in Laurel, Maryland, and telling her husband she wanted to try her hand at running it herself.

“As a woman, who would have thought?  I come from Africa.  I wouldn’t have thought I would start a business in America,” Segal said as she opens her Sweets and Treats Creamery on this sunny morning.

The last year has not been without its challenges for Segal, who left Uganda 25 years ago to start a new life in the United States.

After leaving a corporate¹ job to focus on family - Segal is the mother of a young daughter - she used her family’s savings² to get the year-old ice cream shop off the ground.

“It’s so easy for a man to go to the bank and they give him a loan. Me, a woman: 'What do you do?'  'Oh, I am a housewife.' ‘Oh, yeah, really?’ Nobody’s going to give you a loan,” Segal said.

She is not alone.

Margot Dorfman, CEO of the U.S. Women’s Chamber³ of Commerce, says the challenges of being a female business owner are reflected in the statistics.

While women own 36 percent of all U.S. companies, they generate only 4 percent of all U.S. annual revenues.

A 2015 chamber report named “Wake Up Call” found 70 percent of women-owned firms have less than $25,000 in revenues annually⁴. Only 1.7 percent have revenues over $1 million, and just 10 percent have paid employees.

 “We have been undervalued for decades now, the fact that we still don’t have fair pay. We have to leave corporate America to start our own businesses to maybe get fair pay and a family-friendly work environment, and still struggle when we have gotten into the marketplace,” Dorfman said during an interview at the chamber’s headquarters in Washington.

Voting for Clinton

On who might best address the struggle, Dorfman says Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton wins her organization's endorsement⁶.

“She is committed to making sure that small businesses have access to capital and access to markets and is very interested in the access to affordable⁷ health care,” the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce CEO said.

If the U.S. presidential campaign were to come down to Republican Donald Trump⁸ versus⁹ Democrat⁵ Hillary Clinton, 60 percent of American women polled in a recent CNN survey said they would cast their ballots¹⁰ for Clinton.

Bukie Opanuga, a Clinton supporter, is paying close attention to women’s workplace issues during this presidential campaign.

“We women do have the power and the ability to drive the conversation in that direction because these are issues that matter to us,” Opanuga said.

The Nigerian-American used high-interest credit cards to grow her Atlanta-based web design firm and has seen firsthand the struggles many women face.

“Some people don’t necessary want to go the entrepreneur route, but they are having to essentially¹¹ come out of the workplace and become 1099 workers [self-employed] because they are having to choose between a paycheck or being able to take care of a sick child at home. These are some of the issues I am going to be paying attention to – and a lot of women should be paying to,” Opanuga said.

Voting for Trump

Back in Maryland, Anne Segal is paying close attention to the economy as she works to make her shop profitable.

Though she voted for Barack Obama, she says she is disappointed with Democrats¹² and is now looking in a different direction.

“This time I am going to [vote] for someone who has created a job, who is Trump. He has created a job. He is employing people. When it comes to the economy, at least he knows better than the other guys running around telling us what to do.”

Regardless of whom they support, both Segal and Opanuga say American women should ensure their voices are heard come November.

1 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

2 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

3 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

4 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

5 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

6 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

7 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

8 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

9 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

10 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

12 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》