Hometown Glory

Houston ranked one of the best places to be a businesswoman: Southern bellesdominate list

How far have women in the workplace come? Gone are the days when "working girl" meant a prostitute — now it's just a reference to a pretty awesome '80s movie. That's what I call progress.

OK, a better measure of progress? Women now own 8.3 million businesses in the United States which earn a combined $1.3 trillion in revenue.

According to Forbes, Houston is one of the best places to be a businesswoman — especially one that wants to be her own boss. H-Town was ranked No. 2 on its list of "Best Cities for Female Entrepreneurs," second only to New York.

Despite stereotypes about antiquated gender roles in the South, the dominance of Southern cities like Houston, Dallas (No. 3), Atlanta (No. 5), San Antonio (No. 15), and Washington, D.C., led Forbes to declare that Southern belles are "killing it" when it comes to starting successful businesses. Especially in Texas.

"According to the AMEX OPEN 2012 State of Women-Owned Business Report, Texas is in the top fastest-growing states for female led firms (with Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina and Mississippi keeping it company). Combined, the sister cities boast more than 355,000 women-owned firms that pull in upwards of $66 million each year. Add San Antonio — the No. 15 Best City for Women In Business that boasts an impressive 67.1% growth in women’s businesses — to the mix and you’re looking at $87 million. In Texas, bigger (business) is definitely a sign of success."

As the second-ranked city, Houston boasted more than 167,000 women-owned firms, with growth of 42.4 percent women-owned companies since 1997. SBA-approved loans to women-owned companies totaled more than $31 million in 2011-2012, with revenues by those companies topping $35 million.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”