NYC’s Annual report on Diversity, Access, and Inclusion of Minority- and women-owned business enterprises (M/WBEs) in the City’s public economy is out and the the City continues to lag in execution on its mandated goals.
Minority- and women-owned business enterprises are critical to the country’s job market, employing millions of Americans and contributing more than $1 billion to the national economy each day.
Nevertheless, these businesses continue to confront disparities that deny them the opportunity to compete on a level playing field. In New York City, people of color and women account for 84 percent of the population and 64 percent of business owners.
The City’s recently published disparity study showed that while more M/WBEs are available to contract with the City, there was persistent underutilization of these firms in the last six years of City contracting.