Diversity and Entrepreneurship in California: An Undergraduate Research Symposium

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The pandemic has had disproportionate impacts on diverse entrepreneurs in California and across the nation. While local, state and federal aid has helped some businesses recover, many business owners continue to face structural and financial barriers to growth and success. This symposium will highlight original research by UC Berkeley undergraduates who have spent the summer investigating challenges and opportunities facing women- and POC-owned small businesses and diverse entrepreneurs in the Bay Area and California. 

A keynote panel of leading experts and advocates will kick off the symposium with a context-setting discussion of the inequities faced by POC-owned small businesses, particularly in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and the road to recovery. Graduate and undergraduate researchers from the Center for Community Innovation at UC Berkeley will present their recent spatial analysis of BIPOC-owned businesses across the Bay Area. In the afternoon, IGS's Diversity and Entrepreneurship Fellows will present findings from their summer research in two concurrent sessions. These presentations will cover inequitable distribution of Covid-related small business loans and grants, how POC-owned food service businesses responded to challenges caused by the pandemic, the impact of Covid-closures and relief opportunities on women-owned businesses, inequities in local policies designed to support small business growth, and other related topics. Invited respondents will synthesize research findings and provide feedback.

The presentations offered at this symposium will inform and enhance our understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing POC-owned small businesses and diverse entrepreneurs in California and inform future research.

This is a hybrid event: participants are invited to attend in person at Moses Hall on the UC Berkeley campus, or remotely via Zoom Webinar. All attendees, whether in person or virtual, are required to register. 

This event is sponsored by the Institute of Governmental Studies, the Robert T. Matsui Center for Politics and Public Service, and the Center for Community Innovation, with generous support from the Wells Fargo Foundation.

AGENDA: (Click on the sessions below for more information about speakers, timing, location, and Zoom Webinar links for those joining remotely.)