Kim Janey rolls out Boston contract procurement changes aimed at more diversity

Acting Mayor Kim Janey announced the creation of a supplier diversity program and a fund to support businesses owned by women and people of color as the city continues to try to bring up the small number of female and minority contractors it pays.

She announced the creation of a $750,000 fund that will give out chunks of up to $15,000 to businesses owned by women, minorities and veterans, and to small businesses in general looking to compete for city contracting opportunities.

“This initiative will help increase the availability of diverse businesses that are ready to compete for work with the city,” Janey told reporters on Wednesday.

Earlier this year, a report commissioned by the city found that just 1.2% of all contracts went to companies owned by women or people of color. The study found that based on the firms applying, just under 17% of the contracts should have gone to such companies.

Following that, then-Mayor Martin Walsh in February announced an executive order setting out a 25% goal, with 15% of the contracts going to women-owned firms and 10% to ones owned by minorities.

Walsh’s executive order created a “supplier diversity program” to advance these objectives, and will “require goal tracking and reporting as part of the annual budget process” starting in fiscal 2023. The order will be in effect for five years, at which point the city will conduct a new “disparity study.”

Janey announced the rollout of that part of Walsh’s order on Wednesday, saying the “Mayor’s Office of Economic Development’s Equity and Inclusion Unit” has five full-time positions to develop processes, monitor contracts and provide technical assistance to businesses.

Janey also announced an initiative to overhaul Malcolm X Park in Roxbury, where Janey was giving the press conference. She said the city increased the project from $5.9 million to $9.4 million, with an eye on making more contracts available to businesses in the majority Black area.

Walsh’s order came on the heels of a federal civil rights complaint filed against the city by The Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, the Greater Boston Latino Network, Lawyers for Civil Rights and Amplify Latinx, calling for the feds to step in. They cited the report from the city and said it’s the “old boys’ network” that’s perpetuated these trends.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3uxRPxu