Recently, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams issued a new report entitled "Diverse Entrepreneurial Inclusion" that advocates providing greater assistance for Minority/Women-Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBEs) when many organizations have scaled back their DEI efforts. 

In addition to analyzing how city contracting methods affect smaller diverse businesses, this report indicates that supporting M/WBEs is both “socially and economically responsible” as well as critical to the City of New York’s future economy.

Williams' office has determined that despite years of programme work and record headline numbers, M/WBE businesses are still getting only 5% or less of the total value in city contracts, and most of those awards have been relatively small dollar values that have limited the firms’ potential to grow and build capacity. 

The report emphasizes the systemic barriers within the procurement system that inhibit M/WBEs from getting contracts, including overly complicated, bureaucratic processes; the use of emergency waivers that circumvent M/WBE contracting opportunities; and the exclusion from local diversity goals of several large contracts that are funded by the state or federal government. 

The Public Advocate is encouraging New Yorkers to "vote with their wallets" by supporting local M/WBE retailers and service providers in commercial areas throughout Brooklyn. 

This local campaign is part of a broader national conversation where cities such as St. Louis and Houston face significant legal and political challenges regarding their M/WBE and disparity programs, even as they are attempting to maintain access to qualified diverse contractors.