New Report Documents Record Levels of Contracting with Firms Owned by Minorities, Women, Disabled Veterans
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA – Ongoing efforts by California utility and telecommunications companies to diversify their supplier networks set a new record last year, generating over $8.5 billion in contracts with businesses owned by people of color, women, and service disabled veterans. This remarkable performance, detailed in The Greenlining Institute’s 2014 Supplier Diversity Report Card, sets a standard that Silicon Valley tech firms – publicly wrestling with diversity issues in recent weeks – should seek to emulate, Greenlining policy experts argue.
“The efforts of these California companies outpace other parts of the U.S. as well as other industries by leaps and bounds, generating billions of dollars in business for firms owned by people of color, women and disabled vets,” said Greenlining Institute Energy and Telecommunications Policy Director Stephanie Chen. “Silicon Valley companies that are so visibly struggling with diversity should look to this program as a model.
“But as we dive into the numbers, we still find gaps, and plenty of opportunities that remain to be tapped,” Chen added. “Still, companies are coming to understand that supplier diversity isn’t just a feel-good program, but one that helps keep costs down and quality up by spurring competition among suppliers.”
Among the report card’s key findings:
- This year, reporting companies spent more than $8.5 billion with businesses owned by people of color, women, and service disabled veterans. The majority of that spending was with businesses in California, making supplier diversity an important driver of state and local economies.
- For the first time ever, three companies exceeded 30 percent contract spending with minority-owned businesses.
- Some areas, like legal and professional services, continue to lag in contracting with diverse businesses. Spending with Asian American, African American, and minority women-owned businesses is in many cases leveling off or slipping.
