Supporters of Dodd-Frank contend it puts the appropriate processes in place to enable minority and women firms to pursue new contracts. For instance, each of the nation’s 12 Federal Reserve Banks have an OMWI link on its website, allowing potential contractors to find projects and individuals to make job connections.
Lorraine Cole, Ph.D., director of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion for the Treasury, notes what’s important about Section 342 of Dodd-Frank, which was born in the wake of the national financial crisis, is that it creates a concentrated focus on both workforce diversity and business diversity within the federal financial agencies. The OMWI office supports the agency’s outreach to minority- and women-owned businesses, as well as small businesses in various socioeconomic categories, to increase the diversity of qualified firms participating in the Treasury’s business activities. “It has heightened the awareness of prospective vendors about opportunities and sharpened the top-of-mind focus within the agency on fair inclusion when considering contractors,†Cole says.
The Treasury also merged its department-wide small business contracting activities into its OMWI office. For the first time, the Treasury exceeded contracting goals established by the Small Business Administration, with small firms, including minority and women businesses, surpassing the 28.5% goal with 34.5%, amounting to $766 million in fiscal year 2011. However, going forward, there could be fewer contracting opportunities due to budgetary constraints.
The agencies’ reports include summaries on how contracts were granted and investing challenges faced in targeting MWOBs. William Michael Cunningham, social adviser at Creative Investment Research Inc. in Washington, D.C., says Dodd-Frank has helped minority firms identify what they can expect to sell to federal agencies, whether it’s office supplies, information technology, or security services. However, while the law provides agencies some transparency, it does not necessarily force them to do more business with minority contractors.
Cunningham points out that Dodd-Frank was designed to get women- and minority-owned firms out of the “contracting ghetto†of mainly providing the federal government projects that fit within current cultural stereotypes, including contracts for such work as janitorial and security services. So, a black-owned firm was less likely to be able to sell high intellectual content such as economic forecasting or investment management services, adds Cunningham.
Aimed at helping more minority- and women-owned firms land contracts with the federal government, Cunningham’s firm is hosting a $100 webinar on Oct. 1 called Review of Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) Performance: Opportunities for Minority and Women Firms, Implications for Policymakers at http://omwirpt.eventbrite.com. For more on the bidding process, also see “Winning Government Bids,†Small Biz, June 2012.