Minority contracting has grown since 2011, with the best federal agency still being the Office of the Comptroller.
The Comptroller’s office had the best performance in 2014, moving rapidly to A-. The worst agency was the Federal Reserve Bank of New York which had a D-rating, reports the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI), according to Washington, D.C.-based Creative Investment Research Inc.
Starting in 2011, for the first time, federal agencies including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Federal Reserve, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, were required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to report to Congress their purchasing activity with the pool of contractors who sell the government goods and services. The law, signed by President Obama in July 2010, required 29 federal agencies to open an Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) to track their diversity efforts in workforce hiring and procurement with these groups. The goal was to open up more contracting opportunities for minority and women firms.The 29 OMWI Offices reported $692 million in contracting dollars with women and minority firms in 2014. That number was $537 million in 2013, though given the lack of 2013 minority and women business contracting reporting data for some of the OMWI Offices, the two figures are not directly comparable.
Recently, several OMWI Offices issued Annual Reports to Congress detailing their women and minority business contracting. According to the report, of the total contracts awarded, 17.6% went to minorities in 2014 compared to 12.4% in 2011. For women business owners, 11.25% received contracts in 2014 compared to just 6.4% in 2011.
[Related: SBA Wants To Increase Government Contracting Opportunities For Women-Owned Firms]
To learn more the about minority and women business contracting opportunities at the 29 Federal Offices required to report under the OMWI law, several webinars have been slated throughout October and November 2015.
Click here to participate in one.