Making the Grade

Making the Grade 2021

Executive Summary

The New York City that emerges from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic will necessarily be a very different city: after the loss of over 30,000 of our fellow New Yorkers and months of economic disruption that forced the closure of so many storefronts in our neighborhoods, COVID-19 irreparably altered our way of life.[1] It also exposed longstanding structural inequalities, inspiring New Yorkers to call on the country to Stop Asian Hate and to recognize that Black Lives Matter.[2]

Businesses owned by people of color across the country continue to be disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. For example, Minority/Women-owned Business Enterprises (M/WBEs) have been less likely to gain crucial financing due to institutional racism, leaving many automatically excluded from federal COVID-19 relief. In fact, research by the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative found that the odds of loan approval from national banks were 60 percent lower for Latino-owned businesses in comparison to white-owned businesses.[3] At the same time, they lost more revenue than majority businesses, with Asian American-owned businesses losing more revenue than any other ethnic group.[4]Although the U.S. continues to reopen, a study from the Small Business Majority found that 35 percent of Black entrepreneurs reported business conditions were worsening as time went on.[5]

In New York specifically, a July 2020 survey from New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer’s Office found that 85 percent of M/WBEs projected less than six months of survival. A follow-up survey released in March 2021 found that 50 percent of M/WBEs were forced to lay off or furlough employees. Although 87 percent of M/WBEs that applied for relief received funding through the federal Paycheck Protection Program, it has not been enough to support businesses in the long term. In fact, at the time of the survey, more than 30 percent of M/WBEs projected being unable to pay rent in the next three months.

As the City continues its recovery from the pandemic, we have a unique opportunity to alleviate the challenges of systemic racism and the COVID-19 pandemic by doing business with businesses owned by women and people of color.

This report, published annually since 2014 by the Office of the New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer, evaluates the performance of the City’s M/WBE program and makes recommendations for its improvement. This year’s findings, as compared with the last eight years, are below.

The Future of Chief Diversity Officers in the Public and Private Sectors

For six years, Comptroller Stringer called for a Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) in City Hall and every City agency to serve as executive-level strategists, driving the representation of people of color and women across government. In July 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order to appoint Chief Diversity Officers in every City agency. Although there is still no CDO with a citywide portfolio in City Hall, Comptroller Stringer finds growing implementation of the role across the public and private sector:

• Thirty-six of the 50 most populous cities across the U.S. have appointed CDOs, and more than half of them report to the Mayor or City Manager.
• Several federal agencies and the Executive Office of the U.S. President have implemented executive-level equity efforts.
• Hiring of CDOs tripled between December 2019 and March 2021 within the S&P 500.
• However, just 14 of the City’s top 50 vendors—which have collectively received over $5 billion from the City of New York—have publicly announced CDOs.

Citywide Utilization of M/WBEs

Comptroller Stringer’s Making the Grade report compares spending with M/WBEs to the City’s goals mandated through legislation. The M/WBE law sets citywide participation goals for certain contracts across construction, professional services, goods, and standard services. They are intended to alleviate inequities identified through constitutionally required disparity studies.

In October 2019, based on the City’s latest disparity study, the New York City Council updated M/WBE goals and introduced new goals for Native Americans across all industries and Asian Americans in professional services. These changes went into effect in April 2020. Because this is the first full fiscal year of the law’s implementation, this is the first year in which report grades are based on updated goals. In addition, grades are based on actual spending in FY 2021, rather than the value of contracts awarded during the fiscal year, because contracts awarded may or may not result in M/WBEs actually receiving payments from the City.

This year’s report includes several major findings:

• The City awarded $30.4 billion in contracts in FY 2021, of which only $1.166 billion (equal to 3.8 percent) were awarded to M/WBEs.
• The City fell to a “C-“ grade in FY 2021 for spending with M/WBEs after two consecutive “C” grades.
• The City spent $1.27 billion with M/WBEs, an additional $261 million from FY 2020 and an increase of more than $900 million since FY 2014.
• Since 2014, the City has been able to improve its grades with Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, and women-owned businesses, but it has been unable to improve its “F” grade with African American-owned businesses over the last eight years. In FY 2021, the City earned a “B” grade with Asian American-owned businesses, a “D” with Hispanic American- and women-owned businesses, and an “F” with African American- owned businesses.
• The City has nearly tripled the number of certified M/WBE firms since FY 2015. However, of more than 10,500 certified M/WBEs, 8,886—84 percent—did not receive City spending in FY 2021. The share of certified M/WBEs receiving City dollars has never exceeded 22 percent since FY 2015.
• As of July 2021, New York City only certified four Native American-owned firms and spent $0 with these companies.
• In FY 2021, of the 32 mayoral agencies graded, two received an “A” grade, four received a “B” grade, 12 received a “C,” 13 received a “D,” and one received an “F.” Overall, in FY 2021, three grades improved, 11 grades remained the same, and 18—over half—declined from FY 2020.
• Spending with M/WBEs declined within 18 City agencies from FY 2020 to FY 2021. However, compared with FY 2014, 29 agencies—about 90 percent—increased their spending with M/WBEs in FY 2021.
• Two agencies – the Commission on Human Rights and the Department for the Aging – received their fifth consecutive “A” grades. Both spent more than 50 percent of their Local Law 1-eligible dollars with M/WBEs. By contrast, in FY 2014, no agencies received “A” grades.
• Meanwhile, one agency, the Department of Transportation received an “F” grade in FY 2021, spending just five percent of its Local Law 1-eligible dollars with M/WBEs. By contrast, in FY 2014, four agencies earned “F” grades.
• In 2020, Comptroller Stringer announced that the Office’s registration process would now include a rigorous review of M/WBE goals on City contracts. Between November 2020 and May 2021, the Comptroller’s Office registered 63 contracts subject to Local Law 1. Of these, 42 contracts, or about 67 percent, had M/WBE goals below 30 percent.
• The Comptroller’s Office maintained its third consecutive “A” grade in FY 2021, up from a “C” in FY 2014. The Comptroller’s Office spent approximately 53 percent of its Local Law 1-eligible dollars with M/WBEs this fiscal year, as compared with 13 percent in FY 2014.

Utilization of M/WBEs through the M/WBE Small Purchase Method

In addition to evaluating overall spending with M/WBEs, Comptroller Stringer’s Office analyzes spending through the M/WBE Small Purchase Method annually. The New York State Legislature and New York City Procurement Policy Board approved of this method of doing business with M/WBEs to create more opportunities for women and people of color through discretionary purchases, first up to $150,000 in 2017 and up to $500,000 by January 2020. This report finds that:

• Citywide utilization of the M/WBE Small Purchase Method fell to $56.3 million in FY 2021, a decrease of about $7.4 million from the previous year. M/WBE Small Purchase Method spending represents less than one percent of the City’s M/WBE-eligible spending this fiscal year.
• Ninety-six percent of M/WBEs did not receive any spending through the M/WBE Small Purchase Method. Just 382 firms received M/WBE Small Purchase Method spending, 50 fewer companies than in the previous year.
• Asian American-owned and Hispanic American-owned businesses saw increases in spending through the M/WBE Small Purchase Method, but African American-owned firms saw a $2.8 million decrease and women-owned businesses received about $6.9 million less than in FY 2020.
• Sixteen—or half of—mayoral agencies utilized the M/WBE Small Purchase Method for purchases between $150,000 and $500,000, as compared with just one agency in FY 2020.
• The Comptroller’s Office spent about $1.7 million through the M/WBE Small Purchase Method, about nine percent of the Comptroller’s M/WBE-eligible dollars in FY 2021.
• Between January 2020 and June 2021, agencies submitted only 11 percent of copies of M/WBE Small Purchase contract actions to the Comptroller’s Office for filing purposes and oversight. This means that the Comptroller’s Office has been unable to fulfill its Charter-mandated contract oversight duty of the vast majority of M/WBE Small Purchases. In June 2021, the Comptroller sent a letter to Agency Chief Contracting Officers calling on them to comply with this requirement in order to continue the delegation of self-registration. As of September 2021, more than half of these filing purposes packages remain outstanding.

Utilization of M/WBEs During COVID-19

In addition to Local Law 1 spending, this report reviews spending specifically related to New York City’s COVID-19 response and recovery. In July 2020, Comptroller Stringer’s Office surveyed 500 M/WBEs on the impact of COVID-19, finding that 85 percent of M/WBE firms projected less than six months of survival. A follow-up survey from the Comptroller’s Office found that 50 percent of M/WBEs were forced to lay off or furlough employees. This report examines City spending with M/WBEs, finding that:

• Between March 2020 and July 2021, the City spent over $3.5 billion in COVID-19-related goods and services, and just 16 percent, or $554 million, went to M/WBEs.
• Specifically, the City spent about $308 million, or about nine percent with women-owned businesses; $161.2 million, or about five percent, with Asian American-owned businesses; $43.2 million, or about one percent, with African American-owned businesses, and $41.2 million, or about one percent, with Hispanic American-owned businesses.
• Two agencies alone made up more than 40 percent of the City’s total pandemic-related dollars. The Department of Citywide Administrative Services spent over $803 million and just ten percent went to M/WBEs. By contrast, the Department of Sanitation spent more than $732 million, and M/WBEs received 25 percent of those dollars.
• Five agencies, both mayoral and non-mayoral, dealt exclusively with non-M/WBEs for their COVID-19-related contracts, including: the Health and Hospitals Corporation, Department of Parks and Recreation, Financial Information Services Agency, Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, and the Department of Small Business Services.

Recommendations

Each year, Comptroller Stringer puts forth recommendations meant to reduce barriers and increase opportunities for M/WBEs. These recommendations are informed by needs identified by the Comptroller’s COVID-19 survey, the City’s M/WBE spending data, a series of focus groups with M/WBEs, and the Comptroller’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth through Diversity and Inclusion. As this administration prepares to leave office, we urge the next cohort of citywide leadership to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion within their first 100 days of office.

• Within the first 100 days of office, all incoming Citywide officials should appoint executive-level Chief Diversity Officers. Because each of these offices plays a different role within the City, the CDO would have a unique role to play within each branch of government. For example, the mayoral CDO should oversee the rollout of the City’s programs designed to increase diversity and inclusion within the City, and they should also play a role in the City’s Budget and should have oversight over agency Chief Diversity Officers to ensure a unified citywide inclusion effort. Within the Comptroller’s Office, the CDO should remain at the Deputy Comptroller level. This CDO should continue focusing on holding the City accountable to its diversity goals. In addition, the City Council should consider implementing CDOs, who should conduct racial impact analyses when legislation is considered, where appropriate. Other officials should also consider implementing CDOs, including the Borough Presidents, the Public Advocate, and District Attorneys.

• The next City leaders should adopt the Rooney Rule to ensure that their cabinets are diverse, and that they engage with communities of color, including M/WBEs, to develop their administrations’ goals. The Comptroller’s Office strives for diversity within the top levels of the Office, maintaining a cabinet that is 68 percent people of color and women. The Office has also championed these efforts in the private sector: through its Boardroom Accountability Project, it worked with more than 14 public companies to adopt the Rooney Rule, which requires them to include women and people of color in every future CEO search, as first adopted by the National Football League. In light of the success of this policy, the City should consider adopting the Rooney Rule for every cabinet-level position. This will be especially important in the first 100 days as our city’s new leaders build out their offices, because research finds that companies with racially and culturally diverse executive teams outperform non-diverse teams. In addition, as the Comptroller, Mayor, and City Council build out their leadership teams, they should engage with communities of color, including M/WBEs, to develop their administrations’ goals.
• Within the first 100 days of office, the next Comptroller should conduct a racial equity audit of the City’s agencies. With the signing of President Biden’s Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, all federal agencies have been mandated to perform an equity assessment to address systemic barriers erected by government which have adversely impacted communities of color.[6] The next Comptroller should mirror this federal effort citywide through an audit of all City agencies. The audit should examine supplier diversity gaps, workforce diversity gaps, pay equity gaps, and agency policies and practices that are systemically biased against communities of color. It should especially focus on the current accountability measures written into law that are not being enforced by agencies or City Hall.

• Within the first 100 days of office, the next Mayor should create a plan to close the gap between certification and receiving City spending for M/WBEs. Over the course of the last eight years, the City has almost tripled its list of certified M/WBEs from just 4,000 to almost 11,000 businesses. However, although we don’t know how many certified M/WBEs competed and were unsuccessful at winning contracts, as this report has shown, no more than 2,000 M/WBEs have ever received City contract dollars in a given year. In fact, in FY 2021, a full 84 percent of M/WBEs did not access City dollars. The City has a responsibility to bridge the gap between M/WBEs and agencies and to translate certification into actual contracting opportunities. The next Mayor should focus on this within their first 100 days by creating a plan to close the gap between the number of people in the program and the number of M/WBEs that win contracts. This plan should hold M/WBE program staff accountable to monitor each M/WBE and work with them to attain at least one contract with the City.
• Within the first 100 days of office, the New York City Council should reassess M/WBE legislation with a targeted focus on goals. One of New York City’s most powerful tools in creating opportunities for M/WBEs is subcontracting. However, this report has shown that almost 70 percent of Local Law 1-eliglble contracts in FY 2021 were assigned goals below the City’s standard of 30 percent. This translated into just 437 M/WBEs receiving subcontracting dollars in FY 2021 – less than five percent of all certified firms. The next City Council should reassess M/WBE legislation with a targeted focus on goals. The Council should review ways that the City can use its full purchasing power to set aggressive M/WBE goals wherever there is M/WBE availability. For example, it should also explore more flexibility when it comes to criteria for granting waivers, including considerations of market availability of M/WBEs and industry standards around subcontracting. In addition, City Council should also utilize the next disparity study to expand the universe of businesses able to participate in the goals program, such as firms with LGBTQIA+ and disabled owners, immigrant-owned firms, and cooperatives.

New York City’s M/WBE Program

The History of the City’s M/WBE Program

New York City has undertaken efforts to boost opportunities for businesses owned by women and people of color since the early 1990s.

In 1992, the City conducted its first disparity study, a formal analysis of the availability and representation of M/WBEs in City contracting. The study found that M/WBEs received a disproportionately small share of City dollars, which led to an executive order creating New York’s first M/WBE program.[7]

In December 2005, City Council commissioned a second disparity study that once again found that qualified M/WBEs were receiving a disproportionately small share of City contracts, leading to the passage of Local Law 129 of 2005 and Local Law 12 of 2006 and the creation of non-binding M/WBE and Emerging Business Enterprise (EBE) goals for New York City mayoral agencies.[8]

City Council significantly amended the M/WBE program through Local Law 1 of 2013, which went into effect in FY 2014. This revision removed a cap that only allowed contracts of up to $1 million to be included in the M/WBE program and allowed agencies to meet participation goals through both prime and subcontracting across four industries: professional services, standard services, goods less than $100,000, and construction.[9]

New York City’s M/WBE program is currently governed by the City Council’s most recent update, Local Laws 174 and 176 of 2019, which added goals for Native Americans across all industries and Asian Americans within professional services contracts. The new law also increases the maximum goods contracts subject to the program from just $100,000 to $1 million, significantly increasing the number of contracts and businesses eligible for participation. In addition to goal changes, the law made administrative changes to the M/WBE program such as more frequent protocol updates and training for City staff. It also requires non-M/WBE prime vendors to identify their intended M/WBE subcontractors in order to hold prime vendors accountable to their subcontracting agreements.[10]

A timeline of New York City’s M/WBE program is reflected in Chart 1, and a review of the City’s updated goals is shown in Chart 2. In addition, throughout this report are direct quotes from M/WBEs from the Comptroller’s May 2020 survey of the impact of COVID-19 on their businesses. Each quote reflects one recommendation from an M/WBE business owner on how the City may improve the outlook for diverse businesses.

Chart 1: Timeline of NYC’s M/WBE Program

Chart 2: Local Law 1 Goals vs. Local Law 174 Goals

Recent Progress

Over the course of the last eight years, with the onset of the Making the Grade report, New York City’s M/WBE program has received both legislative and administrative focus. In September 2014, the City announced a goal of awarding $16 billion in contracts to M/WBEs by 2025. Since then, the City increased its goal to $25 billion.[22] The most recent steps taken by the City and State to help achieve these goals are described below:

New York City Administrative Actions Impacting M/WBEs

November 2020-February 2021 – Introducing M/WBE Goals to Affordable Housing and Infrastructure Projects

The City announced a requirement that M/WBE or non-profit developers hold a minimum of 25 percent ownership stake of affordable housing projects. This means that at least 25 percent of the economic benefits of every project, including tax credits, will go to M/WBEs and non-profits. In addition, the City and U.S. Representatives announced that the upcoming construction of John F. Kennedy Airport will require all contractors to ensure 30 percent of their workforce are people of color, and will include a 30 percent M/WBE goal for the project.[23]

November 2020-April 2021 – Funding for Small Businesses and M/WBEs in Hard-Hit Low-to-Moderate-Income (LMI) Communities

The City announced the NYC LMI Storefront loan, Interest Rate Reduction Grant, and Strategic Impact COVID-19 Commercial District Support Grant. These funds aim to provide resources to small businesses that have been heavily impacted by the pandemic, including storefront businesses within low-to-moderate income neighborhoods and businesses with existing loans with Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). It also announced a grant for non-profits, including local chambers of commerce to provide support services to businesses within low-to-moderate-income neighborhoods and communities of color.

In addition, the City announced that it will allocate over $155 million to small businesses in its FY 2022 budget, including low-interest loans of up to $100,000 to businesses in neighborhoods identified by the City’s Taskforce on Racial Inclusion and Equity as the hardest hit by COVID-19, grants for rent and unpaid expenses during the pandemic, and free legal services to address commercial lease issues. The City also announced that it will establish a small business recovery “one stop shop” service to help businesses meet opening and re-opening requirements. [24]

December 2020 – Resources to Support Employee Ownership

The City announced the launch of Employee Ownership NYC to assist business owners considering transitioning partial or full ownership of the business to an employee. The City aims to target M/WBEs and businesses within communities of color in order to keep jobs and ownership within these communities.[25]

January 2021-June 2021– Mentoring Programs for Underrepresented Entrepreneurs

The City announced three new mentorship programs targeting aspiring entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities, including small storefront business owners pivoting online, Black-owned businesses that are pre-startup and newly formed, and M/WBEs navigating government contracting.[26] In addition, the City announced the Young Men’s Initiative, which will help target Black and Latinx-owned M/WBEs, and will require the City to publish a disparity report every five years on the obstacles that Black and Latinx youth experience across education, employment, and other areas.[27] Along the same lines, the City and its Taskforce on Racial Inclusion and Equity put forth a youth-focused economic justice plan to help build generational wealth among people of color. The plan includes providing access to universal baby bonds, over 2,800 CUNY scholarships for Black and low-income students, and paid internships through the Brooklyn Recovery Corps.[28]

“There has been little to no help.  We received 15k for our PPP loan and were super underfunded on it.  Why isn’t the city going at banks for that?  We know you didn’t set the program up, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t speak out again[st] what is wrong and what is right.”
– An Asian American Women-Owned construction firm in the Bronx

January 2021-April 2021– Resources to Help Small Business Owners Apply for Federal Relief

The City announced its Fair Share NYC campaign which aims to assist small businesses and M/WBEs, especially those that did not receive funding through the first round of the federal Paycheck Protection Program, to access the second round of PPP relief funds. This is important because a study found that more than 90 percent of businesses owned by Black, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander people and 75 percent of businesses owned by Asian Americans could not access this first round of PPP funds.[29] Congress approved these funds through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021. In addition, the City announced assistance for restaurants applying for the federal Restaurant Revitalization Fund.[30]

February-August 2021 – Resources for Black-Owned and Women-Owned Businesses

The City announced two programs for Black-owned businesses. Shop Your City: BE NYC is a targeted campaign designed to encourage New Yorkers to buy from local Black-owned businesses. Be NYC Access: Consulting is designed to provide Black-owned businesses with pro bono consulting on financial management and accessing capital from Ernst and Young. The City also announced that its program for women entrepreneurs, WE NYC, has reached 17,000 businesses, 60 percent of which were owned by women of color.[31]

May 2021– Calling on the State to Expand M/WBE Opportunities

The City administration and State legislature announced two bills aimed at expanding opportunities for M/WBEs. Specifically, the M/WBE Expansion Act aims to: increase City agencies’ discretionary threshold with M/WBEs from $500,000 to $1 million; reduce the overhead cost for subcontractors and the City by authorizing the consolidation of insurance on construction contracts; and allow bidders for City contracts who have workforce diversity policies and practices to receive extra points on bids. In addition, the City administration and State Legislature announced the introduction of the Community Hiring Act which aims to create job opportunities for NYCHA residents, veterans, people with disabilities, justice-involved individuals, cash assistance recipients, immigrants, NYCDOE and CUNY Graduates, many of whom are people of color.[32]

New York State Administrative Actions Impacting M/WBEs

April 2021 – Resources for M/WBEs Seeking DASNY Contracts

New York State announced the Fast Track to Surety Program, a training program to help prepare M/WBEs and Serviced Disabled, Veterans Owned Businesses (SDVOBs), to bid as prime vendors for projects $500,000 or greater, and to obtain needed bonding. The program also aims to help M/WBE and SDVOB contractors access Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) contracts.[33]

May 2021 – Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grants

New York State announced its plan to provide $800 million in grants of up to $50,000 to small businesses facing financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These grants would be used to cover: operation expenses, payroll, rent or mortgage payments, taxes, utilities, personal protective equipment (PPE), or other business expenses incurred during the pandemic. The State announced that over 330,000 small and micro businesses, including 57 percent of the State’s certified M/WBEs, were eligible for this program.[34]

“[We need] Micro grants to help offset expenses related to switching to virtual business – computers, Zoom software etc[.] – retroactive reimbursement like PPP for the past year.”
– A Hispanic American Woman-Owned Professional Services company in Staten Island

June 2021 – Expanding Jobs in Queens through the LaGuardia Airport

New York State announced the extension of a career center in Queens to help Queens residents, including women and people of color, find jobs at LaGuardia Airport. The State also announced that it met its 30 percent goal for rebuilding LaGuardia Airport, exceeding $1.8 billion in contracts with M/WBEs.[35]

August 2021 – Increasing M/WBE Discretionary Purchases at the Port Authority

The Port Authority Board of Commissioners voted to amend its policy increasing the threshold for direct solicitation of M/WBEs for discretionary contracts. This means that for construction contracts up to $2.5 million and for goods and services contracts up to $1.5 million, the Port Authority can directly solicit certified M/WBEs without a formal competition.[36]

City Council Legislative Actions Impacting M/WBEs

December 2020-January 2021 – Preventing Discrimination in the Workforce (Int. No. 1693 and Int. No. 1314)

The New York City Council passed legislation, enacted in December 2020 and January 2021 respectively, to expand protections from discrimination in hiring, for older adults and people with previous arrests and pending criminal proceedings.[37]

May 2021 – Expanding Opportunities for M/WBE Asset Managers and Financial Services Firms (Int. No. 0901)

New York City Council passed legislation mandating all private sector employers to create retirement savings accounts for their employees. The bill also established a retirement savings board to oversee the City’s program and requires the board to create a plan to include M/WBE asset managers, financial institutions, and professional service firms in the implementation of the program.[38]

June 2021 – Requiring Racial and Equity Reports on Housing (Int. No. 1572)

New York City Council passed legislation introduced by the Public Advocate to require the development of a citywide equitable development tool, which would be used to study and assess the potential racial and ethnic impact of most proposed rezonings. The new law also requires land use applications to include racial equity reports, including how proposed projects relate to the goal of furthering fair housing and equitable access to opportunity.[39]

State Legislative Actions Impacting M/WBEs

January 2021 – New York State Denounces Symbols of Hate (A962/S883)

The New York State legislature passed and the governor signed legislation that denounces and prohibits the attaching or affixing of hate symbols on any state owned property or the grounds of state fair. This bill also prohibits the selling or display of items with hate symbols.[40]

March 2021 – Creating M/WBE Goals Through Adult Cannabis Licenses (S854-A/A1248-A)

The New York State legislature passed a bill legalizing the adult use of cannabis. The bill requires the State to establish a social and economic equity plan which will target individuals who have been disproportionally impacted by cannabis enforcement including creating a goal which will allot 50 percent of licenses to equity applicants including M/WBEs, distressed farmers, and service-disabled veterans.[41]

“[We need] help with accessing the funding sources available to small businesses”
– An Asian American-Owned Professional Services business in Brooklyn

Federal Focus on Diversity and Inclusion

The nation saw renewed focus on diversity and inclusion with the election of President Joseph Biden. Below are the steps the new Administration has taken since President Biden was sworn in on January 20, 2021:

January 2021 – Identifying and Addressing Systemic Bias in Federal Agencies (EO 13985)

The Biden Administration announced an Executive Order which required a 200-day equity assessment across federal agencies in order to identify and address systemic biases and barriers erected by government which adversely impact underserviced communities when seeking access to federal procurement and contracting opportunities. President Biden appointed Susan Rice, Director of Domestic Policy, to spearhead the initiative and to work to ensure federal agencies are working towards diversity, equity and inclusion.[42]

January 2021 – Combating Discrimination Based on Sex, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation within Government (EO 13988)

The Biden Administration announced an Executive Order to create programs, regulations, and fully enforce Title VII and laws that address discrimination in order to combat systemic biases and discrimination based on sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation within government.[43]

January-May 2021– Addressing Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance Against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in the United States (EO 14031)

The Biden Administration announced a Memorandum calling on agencies to address the rising levels of violence and discrimination the AAPI community has received because of derogatory language and depiction of AAPI community during the Covid-19 pandemic.[44] In addition, the Administration announced an Executive Order to establish the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders under the Department of Health and Human Services. The Commission will work to provide recommendations to the President to address xenophobia and barriers the AANHPI community may face and to expand opportunities for the AANHPI community.[45]

January 2021– Strengthening Relationships with Indigenous Tribal Nations

The Biden Administration has announced the prioritization of its relationship with Native American and Alaska Native Tribal nations as it seeks to assess federal agencies, policies, and regulation that effect tribal nations, while ensuring that tribal voices are being heard when federal government deliberate on policies that impact tribal nations.[46]

March 2021– Reinstating Diversity and Bias Trainings across Federal Government

The Biden Administration has announced the revocation of the previous administration’s Executive Order 13950, which prohibited federal agencies and contractors from engaging in diversity and bias trainings. This memo aims to ensure that federal agencies are working towards diversity, equity, and inclusion.[47]

March 2021 – Creating an Executive Gender Policy Council (EO 14020)

The Biden Administration announced an Executive Order to establish the White House Gender Policy Council within the Executive Office of the President. The Council will work to address systemic barriers, biases, and discrimination across the federal government in order to empower women, increase economic security of women, and close the equity gap that divides men and women.[48]

June 2021 – Building Black Wealth and Narrowing the Racial Wealth Gap

The Biden administration announced a plan to address economic disparities within the Black community by creating access to homeownership and small business ownership. The administration will use its federal procurement powers to increase contracts awarded to MWBEs by 50 percent, driving $100 billion for small, disadvantaged businesses within the next five years. The plan will also allocate over $61 billion in the form of grants and programs to help create jobs and build wealth within communities of color.[49]

June 2021 – Mandating a Government-Wide Strategic Plan for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility within the Federal Workforce

The Biden Administration has mandated through Executive Order that the Federal government establish a coordinated government-wide, data-driven strategic plan to promote diversity, inclusion, equity, and accessibility within the federal workforce. In particular, the Executive Order requires the federal government to issue guidance related to promoting paid internships, recruitment, professional development and advancement, training, advancing equity for employees with disabilities and LGBTQ+ employees, pay equity, and expanding opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals. The Executive Order also requires agencies to seek opportunities to hire Chief Diversity Officers.[50]

September 2021 – Increasing Equity within Historically Black Colleges and Universities

The Biden Administration announced an Executive Order which establishes the Propelling Agency Relationships Towards a New Era of Results for Students Act (PARTNER ACT). The order mandates the Executive Office of the President to implement a government-wide strategic plan to identify and address systemic barriers erected by government agencies that adversely impact Historically Black Colleges and Universities.[51]

September 2021 – Increasing Educational Equity and Opportunity for Hispanic Americans

The Biden Administration put forth an Executive Order establishing a White House Initiative and a Presidential Advisory Commission on Advancing Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanic Americans. The White House Initiative and the Presidential Advisory Commission will be charged with addressing systemic barriers to educational equity for Hispanic Americans from early childhood education through higher education and employment.[52]

“We are struggling because the banks are not willing to give us any loans and the loans [through] the [SBA] and others are not enough…”
– A Black-Owned Construction Company in The Bronx

The Future of Chief Diversity Officers in the Public and Private Sectors

In 2014, Comptroller Stringer became the first citywide elected official in New York City to appoint a Chief Diversity Officer. The Comptroller’s Chief Diversity Officer is an executive-level diversity and inclusion strategist who focuses on driving the representation of women and people of color across government through the agency’s Charter-mandated duties, such as registering City contracts, conducting performance and financial audits of all City agencies, and acting as the custodian of the New York City Public Pension Funds. Over the past eight years, the Comptroller’s Office has instituted initiatives to expand opportunities for all, which has resulted in:

• Increased spending within the Comptroller’s Office from 13 percent or $2.4 million to 53 percent, or $8.3 million;
• 77 more women and people of color on corporate boards and 14 companies adopting Rooney Rule policies, which require them to consider women and people of color for board and chief executive officer searches, through the Boardroom Accountability Project;
• $1 billion in pension dollars invested annually in minority investment firms;
• Mandated unconscious bias trainings for all Comptroller employees;
• Requesting diversity growth plans from companies that work with the Comptroller’s Office; and
• The inclusion of LGBTQ-owned businesses in the City’s M/WBE and EBE certification fast-track program.

Comptroller Stringer also championed the call for a Chief Diversity Officer in City Hall and within every City agency since 2014. In 2019, Comptroller Stringer’s Office called for a proposal through the City’s Charter Revision Commission to appoint a Chief Diversity Officer who would report directly to the Mayor. Ultimately, the Charter Revision Commission amended the proposal to codify the current Citywide M/WBE Director in the Charter. New Yorkers approved the amended proposal on the ballot in November 2019. This means that all future mayoral administrations will be required to appoint an M/WBE Director to ensure procurement opportunities for women and people of color.

In July 2020, after years of coordinated pressure as well as the urgent need for executive-level focus on diversity and inclusion shown by the Black Lives Matter movement and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on marginalized communities, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order to appoint Chief Diversity Officers in every City agency. This was implemented in August 2020 with a list of agency Chief Diversity Officers on the City’s website.[53] However, there is still no Chief Diversity Officer with a citywide portfolio within City Hall.

Mayors across the nation have been implementing Chief Diversity Officers as early as the 1960s. As shown in Table 1, 36 of the 50 most populous cities currently have citywide Chief Diversity Officers, and two additional cities were in the process of hiring CDOs as of July 2021. Twenty-one – more than half – of these CDOs report directly to the Mayor or City Manager, enabling them to more directly influence their cities’ policies, programs, and budgets. And although the majority were in place before the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, six of these positions were created in response to recent calls to address systemic racism in government.

Table 1: Chief Diversity Officers within the 50 Most Populous U.S. Cities*

*As of September 2021.
** The job announcement for Chief Diversity Officer/Chief Equity Officer was posted but the position has not been filled as of July 2021.

President Biden and U.S. agencies are also working towards implementing Chief Diversity Officers at the federal level. Regarded as the most diverse presidential leadership team in history, President Biden’s Administration is comprised of 12 executive offices and 26 federal agency heads.[54] On President Biden’s first day in office, he charged one of these leaders, the Director of Domestic Policy, with coordinating efforts to embed equity across the full federal government. [55] These efforts then began at the agency level, with one agency, the Department of State, implementing a CDO in April 2021, as shown in Table 2. [56] In June 2021, President Biden signed an executive order requiring agencies to seek opportunities to establish senior-level agency CDOs, separate from their equal opportunity employment officers.[57] Since then, the Department of Justice announced a search for a CDO in August 2021.[58]

In addition to these cabinet-level agencies, CDOs have also emerged within agencies such as the United States Special Operations Command (USSOC) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).[59] The White House also implemented a Special Assistant to the President on Diversity.[60]

Table 2: Federal Agency Chief Diversity Officers*

* As of September 2021.
** The job announcement for Chief Diversity Officer was posted but the position has not been filled as of August 2021.
*** The Director of Domestic Policy, who heads the President’s Domestic Policy Council, is charged with coordinating equity efforts across the full federal government, operating in a similar capacity to a federal CDO.

We are also seeing this trend in the private sector. Within the S&P 500, hiring of new diversity chiefs tripled between December 2019 and March 2021, with more than 60 percent of firms appointing their first-ever Chief Diversity Officer since the summer 2020 in response to the Black Lives Matter movement.[61]

As institutions sprint to hire Chief Diversity Officers, it is important that they do not stop at filling the seat. The CDO role is not to simply convince other governmental or corporate leaders of the importance of diversity, or to be reactive, symbolic, or crisis managers. CEOs and mayors must ensure that their CDOs have access to quantitative data and direct access to executive leadership. In doing so, leaders will ensure that their CDOs have a say in how their institutions do business, from how they write job descriptions and procurement documents to how they create budgets and citywide or company-wide policy. As we look to the future, we hope that cities like New York and businesses from the largest to the smallest can learn to embed diversity and inclusion into the very design of their institutions.

However, most of the City’s top vendors have not implemented this change. New York City’s top 50 vendors collectively received over $5 billion from the City of New York in FY 2021. As seen in Table 3, just 14 (28 percent) of the City’s 50 top vendors have publicly announced Chief Diversity Officers. Just six of these CDOs are reporting directly to the top. An additional 11 firms (22 percent) also have some diversity program, from supplier diversity programs to employee resource groups to diversity councils led by other members of their leadership. This means that half of the City’s top 50 vendors have not prioritized or institutionalized diversity within their own businesses.

As a result, of the $5 billion that these firms received, just $20.6 million—less than one percent—went to M/WBE subcontractors. And just three of these vendors were themselves M/WBEs. As the City transitions into new leadership, the City must not only hold itself accountable to diversity and inclusion, but the firms with which it does business must also reflect this value.

Table 3: Top 50 Business Receiving the Most City Dollars and Status of Chief Diversity Officers*

*As of August 2021.

Spending and Certification

Over the course of the last eight years, the City has dramatically expanded its database of vendors, certifying more than 10,500 vendors by FY 2021 – nearly triple the number of certified firms in 2015. However, certification has not translated into real opportunities for the vast majority of M/WBEs. As shown in Chart 3, of more than 10,500 certified M/WBEs, only 1,683—or 16 percent—received spending in FY 2021. This means that the number of certified M/WBEs that have not received City dollars increased from 3,354 in FY 2015 to 8,886—or 84 percent—in  2021. Chart 3 shows that since 2015, the share of M/WBEs receiving City dollars has never exceeded 22 percent.

Additionally, Chart 3 shows the share of M/WBEs receiving payments as prime contracts and subcontractors. The share of M/WBEs receiving prime contract payments decreased from 14 percent in FY 2020 to 12 percent in FY 2021, its lowest level since FY 2015. The share of M/WBEs receiving subcontractor payments remained the same at four percent.

Chart 3: Share of Certified M/WBEs Receiving Spending, FY 2015-FY 2021

M/WBE Contract Awards

The City of New York releases an annual M/WBE compliance report and the Agency Procurement Indicators Report which outline the City’s utilization with M/WBEs and efforts to improve contracting. This year, the City reported $1.166 billion in M/WBE contract awards, a $63 million increase from FY 2020. These awards represent 25 percent of contracts within the M/WBE program (subject to the M/WBE law), which totaled $4.6 billion.

However, as shown in Chart 4, M/WBE awards represent only 3.8 percent of all procurement awards in FY 2021, which was $30.4 billion. This means that just 15 percent of City contract dollars were subject to the M/WBE program in FY 2021. Comptroller Stringer has recommended since 2014 that the City expand the universe of contracts that are part of the M/WBE program as well as the vendors who can participate. This report has also recommended that the City develop a targeted plan to address areas where there is low M/WBE utilization even with M/WBE availability, including the Department of Education and COVID-19-related procurement.

In July 2020, Comptroller Stringer announced that the Office’s registration process would now include a rigorous review of M/WBE goals on all City contracts. The Comptroller’s Office now requires agencies to provide documentation of their M/WBE goals, such as goal-setting worksheets and market analyses. Between November 2020 and May 2021, the Comptroller’s Office registered 63 contracts subject to Local Law 1. Of these, 42 contracts, or about 67 percent, had M/WBE goals below 30 percent, as shown in Chart 5.

Chart 4: M/WBE Share of City Procurement, FY 2007 – FY 2021

Chart 5: M/WBE Utilization Goals Among Local Law 1-Eligible Contracts, November 2020 – May 2021

Citywide Grades

The Making the Grade report evaluates mayoral agencies that are subject to City M/WBE participation goals. In October 2019, the City Council updated the goals in the M/WBE law. These updates went into effect in April 2020. This is the first year in which report grades are based on Local Law 174 goals.

“Pay their invoices on time. You are waaaaaay behind paying my invoices in PASSPort. The City of NY owes me well over $300,000 soon to be $650,000 in past due invoices”
– A Woman-Owned Goods Company

Grades are based on actual spending in FY 2021, rather than the value of contracts awarded during the fiscal year, because contracts awarded may or may not result in M/WBEs actually receiving payments from the City.[62] Emergency procurement spending that otherwise falls within the M/WBE program, such as spending within the professional services industry, is included in this analysis given the City’s 2020 Executive Order stating that “all City agencies conducting procurements necessary to respond to the ongoing State of Emergency shall not categorically exempt emergency contracts from MWBE participation goals.”[63] In addition, this year’s report includes a grade for spending with Asian American-owned businesses within the professional services industry, in line with the City’s new goal.

Local Law 174 also established goals for Native American-owned businesses for the first time across every industry. However, this year’s report does not include grades for spending with Native Americans due to low certification and spending with businesses owned by Native Americans. In fact, as of July 2021, New York City only certified four Native American-owned firms and spent $0 with these companies.

In FY 2021, New York City mayoral agencies spent $1.27 billion with M/WBEs. This is an additional $261 million from FY 2020 and an increase of more than $900 million since FY 2014, the first year of this report. The City fell to a “C-” grade in FY 2021 when graded against the updated goals in Local Law 174 after two consecutive “C” grades and five years at the “D” and “D+” range from FY 2014.

Broken down by group, the City earned a “B” grade with Asian Americans, a “D” with Hispanic Americans and women-owned businesses, and an “F” with African Americans. Overall, the City has improved its grades with Asian Americans, with whom it received a “D” grade in FY 2014. It also increased its grades with Hispanic Americans and women, with whom the City received failing “F” grades in FY 2014. However, the City has been unable to improve its “F” with African American-owned businesses over the last eight years.

The Comptroller’s Office has provided Citywide Progress Reports for the last four years to help agencies track their spending with M/WBEs throughout the fiscal year. These progress reports provide a quarterly analysis of each agency’s spending by minority group and industry compared with the goals written in the M/WBE law. As shown in Chart 6, citywide spending remains low as compared with the City’s legal goals. The City exceeded its 9.4 percent goal in professional services with Asian Americans in the first year of the goal. However, all other goals were unmet, including the City’s goal in standard services with Asian Americans and its construction goal with Hispanic Americans, which were both met in FY 2020 under the previous Local Law 1 standards. In addition, the City spent two percent or less across every industry with African American-owned firms and less than 12 percent across every industry with women-owned businesses.

Chart 6: Citywide Spending Compared with Local Law 174 Goals, FY 2021

Note: Making the Grade does not include grades for spending with Native Americans due to low certification and spending with businesses owned by Native Americans. As of July 2021, New York City only certified four Native-American owned firms and spent $0 with these companies.

Agency Grades

In FY 2021, of the 32 mayoral agencies graded, two received an “A” grade, four received a “B” grade, 12 received a “C,” 13 received a “D,” and one received an “F.” Overall, as compared with FY 2020, three grades improved, 11 grades remained the same, and 18—more than half—declined. Spending with M/WBEs declined within 18 agencies in the last year. However, six agencies whose grades fell actually increased their spending with M/WBEs. This means that the grade decline for these agencies was partially due to updates in the City’s Local Law goals.

Overall, agencies have improved their spending with M/WBEs since FY 2014, the year this report was introduced. Compared with FY 2014, 29 agencies—about 90 percent—increased their spending with M/WBEs.[64] This is also reflected in improvement in agencies’ grades: in FY 2014, there were no “A” grades, just two agencies earned “B” grades, nine agencies received “C” grades, 17 received “D” grades, and four received “F” grades.

Two agencies—the Commission on Human Rights and the Department for the Aging—received their fifth consecutive “A” grades. Both spent more than 50 percent of their Local Law 1-eligible dollars with M/WBEs. Two agencies—the Administration for Children’s Services and the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings—maintained their “B” grades from FY 2020, and two agencies—the Business Integrity Commission and the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection—increased their grades from “C” to “B” this year. All of these agencies have improved their grades from the “C” and “D” range in FY 2014.

Of the 12 agencies with “C” grades, four had maintained their marks since FY 2020: the Department of Buildings, Department of Finance, Fire Department, and Human Resources Administration. The remaining eight agencies, however, decreased their marks from FY 2020. The Department of Youth and Community Development fell from an “A” grade, while the Civilian Complaint Review Board, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Department of Probation, Department of Parks and Recreation, Landmarks Preservation Commission, Police Department, and Department of Small Business Services, fell from “B” grades last year.

Within the “D” grade, the City saw three agencies maintain their grade from FY 2020: the Departments of Citywide Administrative Services, Homeless Services, and Sanitation. The Department of Emergency Management, which received an “F” in FY 2020, earned an increase to a “D” grade this year. However, nine agencies fell to the “D” grade range in FY 2021: the Departments of City Planning, Design and Construction, Environmental Protection, Correction, Information Technology and Telecommunications, and the Law Department from “C” grades, and the Department of Cultural Affairs, Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and the Taxi and Limousine Commission from “B” grades.

The Department of Transportation, the only “F” grade in FY 2021, fell from a “D” grade, spending just five percent of its Local Law 1-eligible dollars with M/WBEs.

While not a mayoral agency, the Comptroller’s Office is included annually in this report and earned its third consecutive “A” grade in FY 2021 when graded against the City’s new standards, up from a “C” in FY 2014. The Comptroller’s Office spent 53 percent of its Local Law 1-eligible dollars with M/WBEs this fiscal year, as compared with 13 percent in FY 2014.

As Chart 7 shows, most City agencies improved their grades between FY 2014 and FY 2020, with most agencies earning “B” and “C” grades in FY 2020 and mostly “D” grades in FY 2014. However, FY 2021 saw a rise in “D” grades and a decline in “B” grades.

Chart 8 shows that the City received a “C-“ grade because agencies as a whole did not spend significantly with M/WBEs compared with Local Law 1 goals. The 26 agencies that received “C,” “D,” and “F” grades account for 99 percent of the City’s total M/WBE program spending, while the six agencies that received “A” and “B” grades account for just one percent. As the City moves forward, growth to an “A” grade, especially with the updated Local Law 174 goals, will require additional improvement in M/WBE spending among the agencies that have continually maintained the lowest grades and highest proportion of the City’s Local Law 1-eligible procurement spending.

Table 4 provides each agency’s assigned grade and compares grades from FY 2021 to the last seven fiscal years.

Chart 7: Agency Letter Grades, FY 2014 – FY 2021

Chart 8: Composition of Citywide M/WBE Grade by Total Agency Spending, FY 2021

“Provide low range projects that don’t require bonding or security deposits and get MBEs back to work”

– A Hispanic American-Owned Construction Business in Queens

Table 4: Comparison of FY 2014 – FY 2021 Grades: Citywide

Grading by Minority Group

For their spending with African American-owned firms, four agencies received “A” grades, no agencies received “B” grades, one received a “C” grade, two received “D” grades, and 25 received “F” grades in FY 2021.

For their spending with Hispanic American-owned firms, six agencies received “A” grades, two agencies received “B” grades, three received “C” grades, seven received “D” grades, and 14 received “F” grades in FY 2021.

For their spending with women-owned firms, one agency received an “A” grade, one agency received a “B” grade, four received “C” grades, six received “D” grades, and 20 received “F” grades in FY 2021.

For their spending with Asian American-owned firms, 19 agencies received “A” grades, two agencies received “B” grades, four received “C” grades, six received “D” grades, and one received an “F” grade in FY 2021.

Tables 5 through 8 provide assigned grades for agencies by minority group over the last eight years.

Additional information about individual agency grades is available in Appendix A. The worksheets used to calculate each agency grade appear in Appendix B and a complete explanation of the report’s methodology can be found in Appendix D. Subcontract data for each agency can be found in Appendix C.

“It doesn’t appear that city agencies are taking MBE companies seriously. My company offers products that would save city owned properties thousands of dollars and increase efficiency but they ignore us.  Meanwhile, we do more business outside of the 5 boroughs and we’re in [the Bronx].”
– A Hispanic American-Owned Goods business

Table 5: Agency Grades with African American-Owned Firms, FY 2014 – FY 2021

Table 6: Agency Grades with Hispanic American-Owned Firms, FY 2014 – FY 2021

Table 7: Agency Grades with Women-Owned Firms, FY 2014 – FY 2021

Table 8: Agency Grades with Asian American-Owned Firms, FY 2014 – FY 2021

M/WBE Small Purchase Method

Just five years ago, any New York City goods or services contract above $20,000 or construction contract above $35,000 involved a laborious, months-long process for vendors and agencies alike. This was particularly difficult for small M/WBEs that did not have the capacity to wait for the procurement process to unfold. This changed in 2017 when the New York State Legislature approved a bill to increase discretionary purchases to $150,000, leading to the creation of the M/WBE Small Purchase Method, which allows New York City agencies to purchase directly from M/WBEs up to the discretionary limit without a formal competition.[65] In July 2019, New York created even more opportunities to do business with M/WBEs when the State Legislature and the New York City Procurement Policy Board expanded this limit to $500,000. [66] The expansion went into effect in January 2020. In July 2020, the City issued an executive order directing agencies to increase utilization of the M/WBE Small Purchase Method.[67]

“The contracting process, in many instances, isn’t favorable to MWBEs because you have to be of a certain size to even compete. To the extent that there were “mini-MWBE contracts” that would allow us to have a fighting chance to even bid among the “big guys” that would help!”
– A Women-Owned Goods Business in Manhattan

However, despite these efforts, citywide utilization of the M/WBE Small Purchase fell in FY 2021. The City spent $56.3 million in FY 2021, a decrease of about $7.4 million from the previous year. This represents less than one percent of the City’s M/WBE-eligible spending this fiscal year. The number of contracts also declined, falling from 1,171 contracts to just 942 contracts in FY 2021. At the industry level, about 56 percent of M/WBE Small Purchase dollars were spent for goods, 31 percent for professional services, 11 percent with standard services, and two percent for construction.

Overall, 96 percent of M/WBEs did not benefit from the opportunity. In fact, although citywide guidance instructs agencies to distribute purchases appropriately, agencies focused their spending with fewer firms in FY 2021. Just 382 firms received M/WBE Small Purchase Method spending, 50 fewer companies than in the previous year. At the same time, seven companies generated more than $1 million in revenue through the M/WBE Small Purchase Method, all of which were in the field of technology.

The M/WBE Small Purchase Method did not benefit all minority groups in FY 2021, as shown in Chart 9. Asian American-owned businesses received $18.8 million, about $900,000 more than in FY 2020. Hispanic American-owned companies received $10.7 million, about $1.3 million more than in FY 2020. Women-owned companies received $19.9 million, a decrease of about $6.9 million compared with FY 2020. And African American-owned businesses received $6.8 million, a decrease of about $2.8 million compared with FY 2020. Native American-owned businesses, eligible for the M/WBE Small Purchase for the first time in FY 2021, did not receive any spending through the opportunity.

One slight improvement was the number of M/WBE Small Purchase contracts above $150,000. In FY 2020, just two agencies took advantage of the increase. By FY 2021, we see that 16 agencies had 56 contracts exceeding $150,000, as shown in Table 9: the Departments of Information Technology and Telecommunications, Transportation, Design and Construction, Environmental Protection, Finance, Police, Sanitation, Law, Human Resources Administration, Citywide Administrative Services, Small Business Services, Emergency Management, Consumer and Worker Protection, Health and Mental Hygiene, Administration for Children’s Services, and Probation. However, despite this growth, these contracts still only represent six percent of all M/WBE Small Purchases.

While not a mayoral agency, the Comptroller’s Office is also evaluated. The Comptroller’s Office spent about $1.7 million in M/WBE Small Purchases with 18 M/WBE companies. About nine percent of the Comptroller’s M/WBE-eligible dollars went to M/WBE Small Purchases in FY 2021, a slight decrease from ten percent in FY 2020.

To ensure an efficient M/WBE Small Purchase contracting process, the Comptroller’s Office provided a conditional delegation of contract registration to City agencies. This means that agencies, rather than submitting contracts to the Comptroller’s Office and waiting 30 days for registration, could register their contracts internally and simply submit a copy of each contract to the Comptroller’s Office for filing purposes and oversight. However, between January 2020 and June 2021, of the 3,393 contracts, renewals, and other actions that agencies should have submitted to the Comptroller’s Office, agencies only sent 378, or about 11 percent, of these documents. This means that the Comptroller’s Office has been unable to fulfill its Charter-mandated contract oversight duty of the vast majority of M/WBE Small Purchases. In June 2021, the Comptroller sent a letter to Agency Chief Contracting Officers calling on them to comply with this requirement in order to continue the delegation of self-registration. As of September 2021, more than half of these filing purposes packages remain outstanding.

Chart 9: M/WBE Small Purchase Spending by Minority Group, FY 2019 – FY 2021

Table 9: Agency Contracts Exceeding $150,000 in Spending, FY 2020 – FY 2021

The COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Impact on M/WBEs

Post-pandemic New York City will be a very different one: from losing over 30,000 New Yorkers and over a million sickened by the virus, to shutdowns that forced the closure of so many storefronts in our neighborhoods, to fundamental shifts in our day-to-day lives, COVID-19 has shifted the landscape for decades to come.[68] It also exposed longstanding structural inequalities, inspiring New Yorkers to call on the country to Stop Asian Hate and to recognize that Black Lives Matter, which led to one of the largest demonstrations in U.S. history.[69]

Businesses owned by people of color across the country continue to be disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. For example, M/WBEs were less likely to gain financing due to institutional racism, leaving many automatically excluded from federal COVID-19 relief. In fact, research by the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative found that the odds of loan approval from national banks were 60 percent lower for Latino-owned businesses in comparison to white-owned businesses.[70] At the same time, MWBEs lost more revenue than majority businesses, with Asian American-owned businesses losing more revenue than any other ethnic group.[71]  Even as the U.S. continues to reopen, a study from the Small Business Majority found that 35 percent of Black entrepreneurs reported business conditions were worsening as time went on.[72]

“Provide financial relief from paying high rents. Provide grants, not just loans.”
– A Black-Owned Professional Services Business in Manhattan

Businesses in New York were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19-related closures. In fact, a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey of businesses nationwide found that 26 percent of New York businesses were mandated to close, compared to the national rate of 19 percent.  Even those who remained open were still impacted: 60 percent of New York businesses told employees not to work (with or without pay) during the pandemic, compared with 52 percent of businesses nationally.[73] A July 2020 survey from New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer’s Office found that 85 percent of M/WBEs projected less than six months of survival. A follow-up survey released in March 2021 found that 50 percent of M/WBEs were forced to lay off or furlough employees, and although 87 percent of M/WBEs that applied for relief received funding through the federal Paycheck Protection Program, it has not been enough to support businesses in the long term. In fact, at the time of the survey, more than 30 percent of M/WBEs projected being unable to pay rent in the next three months.

In March 2020, the Mayor issued an emergency executive order suspending several sections of City law, including the Procurement Policy Board Rules and Local Law 1, the City’s M/WBE Law, for contracts associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The City also began self-registering contracts rather than going through the normal registration process through the Comptroller’s Office.[74] Since August 2020, Comptroller Stringer sent multiple letters and actions to the Mayor calling on the City to reinstate the Comptroller’s Office’s Charter-mandated role to approve and register contracts, which would restore checks and balances in the procurement process.[75] The City ultimately reinstated this function in July 2021.

From the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020 to July 2021, the City spent over $3.5 billion in COVID-19-related goods and services, but just 16 percent went to M/WBEs, as seen in Chart 10.

227 M/WBEs received a total of $554 million COVID-19-related dollars. The City spent about $308 million, or about nine percent with women-owned businesses; $161.2 million, or about five percent, with Asian American-owned businesses; $43.2 million, or about one percent, with African American-owned businesses, and $41.2 million, or about one percent, with Hispanic American-owned businesses.

“Especially in the food industry, the big businesses are monopolizing and winning all the bids. Unfortunately, after a couple of tries the small businesses/WBEs give up. Within the primary NYC agencies and departments, there are no percentages set aside for MWBE’s which is very disturbing… I feel that in the food industry (we provide fresh and frozen produce), there needs to be a change in order to allow for small businesses to have more opportunity.”
– A Women-Owned Goods Business in Brooklyn

As seen in Table 10, two agencies alone spent over $1.5 billion on COVID-19-related expenses, totaling more than 40 percent of the City’s pandemic-related dollars. The Department of Sanitation spent more than $732 million, mostly for emergency food for New Yorkers, and it spent 25 percent of those dollars with M/WBEs, engaging with M/WBEs to become part of the COVID-19 response while earning over $184 million. However, the top spending agency was not as successful. The Department of Citywide Administrative Services spent over $803 million primarily for personal protective equipment (PPE) such as face masks and disposable gowns, medical equipment such as thermometers, and hand sanitizer. Just $81 million, or about ten percent of those dollars, went to M/WBEs. In addition, five agencies, both mayoral and non-mayoral, dealt exclusively with non-M/WBEs for their COVID-19-related contracts, including: the Health and Hospitals Corporation, Department of Parks and Recreation, Financial Information Services Agency, Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, and the Department of Small Business Services.

However, nine mayoral agencies spent more than 30 percent of their COVID-19-related dollars with M/WBEs: the Civilian Complaint Review Board, Department of Finance, and the Law Department each spent 100 percent of their COVID dollars with M/WBEs; the Department of Environmental Protection spent 94 percent; Administration for Children’s Services spent 86 percent; the Department of Probation spent 72 percent; Police Department spent 58 percent; Department of Health and Mental Hygiene spent 42 percent; and the Department of Correction spent 33 percent with M/WBEs. In addition, the Comptroller’s Office utilized an M/WBE for its sole COVID-19-related contract. However, these agencies’ combined spending only comprises five percent of the City’s total COVID-19-related procurement dollars. As the City moves into almost three years of recovery, it must do more to engage M/WBEs and ensure that they can survive by playing a part in the City’s response.

Chart 10: M/WBE Share of COVID-19-Related Spending, March 2020 – July 2021

Table 10: Agency COVID-19-Related Spending and M/WBE Share, March 2020 – July 2021

Recommendations

It is the responsibility of the entire government to affirmatively advance equity, civil rights, racial justice, and equal opportunity. Over the last eight years, Comptroller Stringer has given voice to solutions from M/WBEs and our Advisory Board which has led to real change within New York City, but there is still room for much improvement. As this administration prepares to leave office, it is clear that the City, from the next Mayor and Comptroller to the next City Council, have abundant opportunities to address the systemic inequities experienced by communities of color.

We urge the next cohort of citywide leadership to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion within their first 100 days of office. Since Franklin D. Roosevelt, the first 100 days of office has been known to set the tone of an administration by focusing on building the executive team, taking immediate steps required to address the nation’s most pressing issues, and building the foundation for the administration’s policies for the rest of their term. For example, President Biden signaled his commitment to improving diversity on his first day in office through his Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. This executive order put federal government to work to address systemic racism on day one of his administration. As such, we urge the next City leaders to prioritize the work that will move the needle around diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the City of New York.

Building out Diverse Institutions: Recommendations to all Citywide Officials

Within the first 100 days of office, all incoming City officials should appoint executive-level Chief Diversity Officers.

As Comptroller Stringer has championed over the last eight years, the next Mayor, Comptroller, City Council, and other City officials should appoint executive-level Chief Diversity Officers within their first 100 days in office. Because each of these offices plays a different role within the City, the CDO would have a unique role to play within each branch of government.

For example, within the Mayor’s Office, the CDO should oversee the rollout of the City’s programs designed to increase diversity and inclusion within the City, such as the M/WBE program within the Department of Small Business Services, the City’s employee equity and inclusion efforts through the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, and enforcement of the human rights law through the Commission on Human Rights. They should also play a role in the City’s Budget and should have oversight over agency Chief Diversity Officers to ensure a unified citywide inclusion effort.

Within the Comptroller’s Office, the CDO should remain at the Deputy Comptroller level. This CDO should continue focusing on holding the City accountable to its diversity goals, such as through the Making the Grade report. They should also focus on growing the Comptroller’s internal M/WBE program, increasing diversity through the City’s pension funds, and corporate boardroom diversity through the Boardroom Accountability Project.

In addition, the City Council should consider implementing CDOs, who should conduct racial impact analyses when legislation is considered, where appropriate, similar to racial impact studies that the City will soon require in the land rezoning process.[76] The Council should examine this tool’s utility beyond land use, as other cities have implemented in their policymaking and budget processes.[77] This would ensure that our City Council understands the potential impact of legislation on communities of color and that their decisions improve the lives of New Yorkers across our city.

Other officials should also consider implementing CDOs, including the Borough Presidents, the New York Public Advocate, and District Attorneys.

The next City leaders should adopt the Rooney Rule to ensure that their cabinets and leadership teams are diverse, and that they engage with communities of color, including M/WBEs, to develop their administrations’ goals.

Comptroller Stringer strives to reflect the diversity of New York City within the top levels of the Office. To that end, 68 percent of deputy and assistant comptrollers are people of color, women, and LGBTQ+ leaders. The Office also championed these efforts within the private sector: through its Boardroom Accountability Project, we have seen 77 more women and people of color appointed to public boards, and 14 companies have adopted the Rooney Rule, which requires them to include women and people of color in every future CEO search, as first adopted by the National Football League.[78]

In light of the success of this policy, the City should consider adopting the Rooney Rule for every cabinet-level position. This will be especially important in the first 100 days as our city’s new leaders build out their offices, because research finds that companies with racially and culturally diverse executive teams outperform non-diverse teams.[79] To ensure transparency in this process, all elected officials should report publicly on the demographics of their appointees, in line with a Congressional proposal that would require public reporting on federal appointees.[80]

Of course, representation alone does not mean that these executive teams will prioritize diversity. Within the first 100 days, as Comptroller Stringer has previously recommended, the Mayor should set a policy that ties performance reviews of all deputy mayors and commissioners to diversity goals.

In addition, as the Comptroller, Mayor, and City Council build out their leadership teams, they should engage with communities of color, including M/WBEs, to develop their administrations’ goals. Namely, within the first 100 days, the next Comptroller should meet with the current Advisory Council on Economic Growth through Diversity and Inclusion and M/WBEs that have been engaged through the Comptroller’s focus groups over the last eight years. The Mayor should continue to implement the Taskforce on Racial Inclusion and Equity as well. And, City Council should hold a hearing within its first 100 days to hear the challenges that M/WBEs still face in obtaining contracts. At the same time, City agencies should continue to conduct M/WBE outreach to ensure that newly certified M/WBEs understand the procurement process. This will allow the City to ensure that its efforts adequately address the interests of the people.

“Less bureaucracy, faster review and selection process, fast contract registration.”
– An Asian American Woman-Owned Professional Services business in Manhattan

Auditing Inequality: Recommendation to the Next New York City Comptroller

Within the first 100 days of office, the next Comptroller should conduct a racial equity audit of the City’s agencies.

With the signing of President Biden’s Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, all federal agencies have been mandated to perform an equity assessment to address systemic barriers erected by government which have adversely impacted communities of color.[81] The next Comptroller should mirror this federal effort citywide through an audit of all City agencies. The audit should examine supplier diversity gaps, workforce diversity gaps, pay equity gaps, and agency policies and practices that are systemically biased against communities of color. It should especially focus on the current accountability measures written into law but are not being enforced by agencies or City Hall.

“Make the process of receiving or bidding on city contracts open and transparent. Reduce the length of some of the contracts. Do not use the same vendors repetitively. “
– A women-owned Professional Services firm in Manhattan

The audit should also focus specifically on the City’s processes that create artificial barriers for businesses owned by women and people of color. Further assessment is an opportunity to supplement the City’s M/WBE disparity study by reviewing agencies’ internal procurement processes and identifying the practices that hinder opportunities to do business with M/WBEs. For example, M/WBE focus groups and previous Comptroller surveys have identified the need for a streamlined, consistent, and transparent City agency procurement process. As Comptroller Stringer has previously recommended, the City should require transparent timelines for RFP awards and notify vendors that did not receive awards of their option to debrief. The racial equity audit should study which agencies do not currently have this measure of transparency and seek to address it.

“Make the access to Bids more transparent.  It seems like bids for small purchases (under 50K) only are sent to preferred vendors or friends of the purchasing organization”
– A women-owned goods business in Queens

Translating M/WBE Certification into Opportunity: Recommendation to the Next Mayor of New York City

Within the first 100 days of office, the Mayor should create a plan to close the gap between certification and receiving City spending for M/WBEs.

Over the course of the last eight years, the City has almost tripled its list of certified M/WBEs from just 4,000 to almost 11,000 businesses. However, although we don’t know how many certified M/WBEs competed and were unsuccessful at winning contracts, as this report has shown, no more than 2,000 M/WBEs have ever received City contract dollars in a given year. In fact, in FY 2021, a full 84 percent of M/WBEs did not access City dollars.

M/WBEs and advocates have shared the myriad reasons why this is the case through the Comptroller’s annual focus groups and surveys. Some are unable to find public requests for proposals or bids within their industries. Some see contract opportunities every day without assigned M/WBE goals and many contracts are too large for small businesses’ capacity. Others focus on discretionary purchases but are unable to get in touch with agencies and are never invited to send a quote. At the same time, agencies express challenges with finding M/WBEs that meet their needs.

The City has a responsibility to bridge the gap between M/WBEs and agencies and to translate certification into actual contracting opportunities. The next Mayor should focus on this within their first 100 days by creating a plan to close the gap between the number of people in the program and the number of M/WBEs that win contracts. This plan should hold M/WBE program staff accountable to monitor each M/WBE and work with them to attain at least one contract with the City.

I have a small local business. During COVID-19 Sun International was awarded an $850,000 ACS contract. I believe that should have been shared. Businesses in hardest hit communities are HARDEST HIT! We are sound bytes but in general completely ignored when not a news story.
– A Black women-owned standard services firm in Manhattan

Holding Agencies and Prime Vendors Accountable to M/WBE Goals: Recommendation to the Next New York City Council

Within the first 100 days of office, the New York City Council should reassess M/WBE legislation with a targeted focus on goals.

One of New York City’s most powerful tools in creating opportunities for M/WBEs is subcontracting. However, this report has shown that almost 70 percent of Local Law 1-eligible contracts in FY 2021 were assigned goals below the City’s standard of 30 percent. Agencies not only released RFPs with goals below 30 percent, but they also approved waivers that removed M/WBE requirements from some contracts. In fact, according to the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services, the City approved 15 full waivers and 13 partial waivers in FY 2021.[82]

“Make sure when primes list us on their RFPS that they actually use us!! And not just fulfill the MWBE requirements for the proposal purposes.”
– A women-owned professional services business

This is disheartening for M/WBEs hoping to maintain their first opportunities via subcontracting. Just 437 M/WBEs received subcontracting dollars in FY 2021 – less than five percent of all certified firms.

The next City Council should reassess M/WBE legislation with a targeted focus on goals. The Council should review ways that the City can use its full purchasing power to set aggressive M/WBE goals wherever there is M/WBE availability. It should also explore more flexibility when it comes to criteria for granting waivers, including considerations of market availability of M/WBEs and industry standards around subcontracting.

Finally, City Council should also utilize the next disparity study to expand the universe of businesses able to participate in the program, such as firms with LGBTQIA+ and disabled owners, immigrant-owned firms, and cooperatives.

Data and Methodology

Comptroller Stringer is committed to boosting M/WBE procurement in City agencies. A core part of that effort is improving transparency surrounding M/WBE spending and accountability for City agencies.

This report focuses on 32 mayoral agencies that account for the vast majority of M/WBE spending. In addition, the Comptroller’s Office has been graded. The New York City Council updated the goals in Local Law 1 in October 2019 and these updates went into effect in April 2020. This is the first full fiscal year with Local Law 174 in effect, so report grades are based on Local Law 174 goals. In addition to percentage goal changes across most industries and minority groups, Asian American Professional Services is calculated for the first time this year. In addition, eligible goods contracts were increased from $100,000 to up to $1 million.

In addition, Local Law 174 implemented spending goals with Native American businesses across all industries. However, this year’s report does not include grades for spending with Native Americans due to low certification and spending with businesses owned by Native Americans. As of July 2021, New York City only certified four Native American-owned firms and spent $0 with these companies.

In addition, the grades are based on actual spending in FY 2021, rather than the value of contracts awarded during the fiscal year, because contracts awarded may or may not result in M/WBEs actually receiving payments from the City. Emergency procurement spending that otherwise falls within the M/WBE law, such as spending within the professional services industry, is included in this analysis given the City’s Executive Order clarifying that all City agencies conducting procurements necessary to respond to the ongoing COVID-19 State of Emergency shall not categorically exempt emergency contracts from M/WBE participation goals.

One agency that is required to submit utilization plans under Local Law 174 (LL 174) and has significant spending, the Department of Investigation (DOI), is not given grades due to a prior agreement not to publicly display vendor data in Checkbook NYC for security reasons. Checkbook NYC is the source of all agency spending data analyzed in this report, and therefore its spending is not included. The Police Department’s vendor data was previously excluded from Checkbook NYC and was made available for the first time in Fiscal Year 2018. With the addition of spending data from the Police Department, the City’s overall grade for subsequent years, including FY 2021, includes spending by 32 agencies rather than 31. Grade calculations for past fiscal years, including Local Law 1 calculations, remain the same.

As with previous gradebooks, all certified M/WBE subcontractor payments subject to LL 174 entered into the Payee Information Portal by prime vendors are included in the agency letter grade calculations. M/WBE subcontractor payments default to the industry and contract characteristics of the prime contracting vendor.

As described below, agency grades are the result of a six-step process that compares agency spending with M/WBE certified vendors to total agency procurement spending in four industry categories established by Local Law 174: Construction, Professional Services, Standard Services, and Goods (contracts less than $1 million). The ratio of M/WBE spending to total spending is then compared to the specific citywide participation goals laid out in LL 174 to determine a final grade based on performance.

Data

Availability

The FY 2021 spending transactions for prime vendors and their subcontractors used in this report were downloaded from Checkbook NYC. The analysis calculates spending by the agency listed as the contracting agency—the agency that registered a given contract and is directly responsible for not only setting contract specific participation goals, but also monitoring the contractor’s progress in meeting those goals.

Responsibility for Completeness

The Checkbook NYC data used in this report originated from the City’s Financial Management System (FMS). In a significant percentage of spending, no award category was available in FMS, making it difficult to identify the industry in which the spending took place.

To correct for any missing data, the Comptroller’s Office examined data from the expense category field in FMS and matched entries with industry data where possible. Using expense category data is less reliable than contract type and award category data, but including it provides a more accurate overall picture of agency spending than not including it. A percentage of spending could not be classified using this method and was therefore excluded from the calculations.

Methodology

The following methodology was used to calculate each agency’s grade. Each agency’s individual grade calculation can be found in Appendix C.

Step 1

To calculate the FY 2021 M/WBE eligible spending per industry, or the denominator, the transactions for Construction, Professional Services, Standard Services, and Goods (less than $1 million) were added and totaled. Transactions labeled Individuals & Others, Human Services, Unknown, or Unclassified, as well as expense categories, contract types, and award methods that met specific criteria were not included. Those criteria cover transactions that are not subject to LL 174, do not represent true procurement opportunities, and where there is no M/WBE availability.

Step 2

The analysis includes a weighted-average proportional to the spending in a given industry. For example, if 75 percent of an agency’s M/WBE eligible disbursements are Professional Services, 15 percent Standard Services, five percent Construction, and five percent Goods (less than $1 million), then the final grade is most influenced by the Professional Services spending, as that is where the agency spends the greatest amount.

For each industry—Construction, Professional Services, Standard Services, and Goods (less than $1 million)—the spending is divided by the total resulting from Step 1 to determine the percentage of total eligible spend in a given industry category.

Step 3

To calculate the FY21 LL 174 spending with M/WBE vendors, or the numerator, the transactions for each industry—Construction, Professional Services, Standard Services, and Goods (less than $ million)—were added and totaled for Black American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Women, respectively.

Step 4

The FY21 LL 174 M/WBE spending as a percent of the eligible spending is calculated by dividing M/WBE spending (Step 3) by total eligible spending (Step 1) per industry and M/WBE category.

Step 5

To determine M/WBE spending as a percentage of relevant LL 174 participation goals, Step 4 was divided by the LL 174 participation goals. For example, if an agency spent four percent of its FY21 construction funds with African American firms, which have a 12 percent LL174 goal, then that agency only reached 33 percent of the target.

Step 6

Grading Scale Rationale

The goal of this report is to drive behavioral change in agency procurement practices. With this in mind, assigning letter grades allows agencies to easily see where their efforts to do business with M/WBEs have succeeded or failed – creating a simple metric to help bring positive changes to procurement practices.

The model employed here is designed to reduce the boost agencies would receive from doing exceptionally well in one category if they are performing poorly in others, and instead reflects the principle that agencies must focus on hitting participation goals across all M/WBE categories in the industries that make up their procurement.

Acknowledgements

Comptroller M. Stringer thanks Wendy Garcia, Chief Diversity Officer, and Patricia Dayleg, Deputy Chief Diversity Officer, for leading the creation of this report.

He also recognizes the important contributions made by: Alaina Gilligo, First Deputy Comptroller; Jessica Silver, Assistant Comptroller for Public Affairs and Chief of Strategic Operations; David Saltonstall, Assistant Comptroller for Policy; Nichols Silbersack, Deputy Director of Policy; Alyson Silkowski, Assistant Policy Director; Amedeo D’Angelo, Deputy Comptroller for Administration; John Katsorhis, Agency Chief Contracting Officer; Bernarda Ramirez, Deputy Agency Chief Contracting Officer; Christian Stover, Administration; Denise Hudson, Director of BAM Contracts; Michael Bott, Assistant Comptroller for Technology/Chief Information Officer; Edward Sokolowski, Executive Director, Systems Development and Program Management; Troy Chen, Executive Director of App Development and Web Administration; Ron Katz, Executive Director, Technology Support and Business Continuity; Archer Hutchinson, Graphic Designer; Lisa Flores, Deputy Comptroller, Contract Administration; Contract Administration; Kim Yu, Bureau Chief/Legal Counsel of Contracts; Charles Diamond, Bureau of Contracts Assistant Legal Counsel; Neysa Alsina, General Counsel and Deputy Comptroller for Legal Affairs; Marvin Peguese, Deputy General Counsel; Brian Ceballo, M/WBE Officer; Kevwe Abamwa, Diversity Liaison; Mari Lee, Diversity Intern; Kavon Lee, Diversity Liaison; Vladmira Asinor, Diversity Fellow; Susan Rethinasamy, Diversity Fellow.

Comptroller Stringer also recognizes the important contributions to this report made by the Advisory Council on Economic Growth through Diversity and Inclusion:

Robert Abreu, Dominicans on Wall Street; Quenia Abreu, New York Women’s Chamber of Commerce; Esther Aguilera, Latino Corporate Directors Association; Vincent Alvarez, New York City Central Labor Council; Adama Bah; Hassan Bakiriddin, Community Board 17 Commerce Committee; Danielle Beyer, New America Alliance; Neeta Bhasin, ASB Communications; José Calderón and Jose Davila, Hispanic Federation; Asher-Leigh Boone, The Black Institute; Don Bowen, The Urban Empowerment Fund; Alejandra Y. Castillo, Minority Business Development Agency; Thomas Chernick, National LGBT of Commerce; Louis J. Coletti, Building Trades Employers’ Association; Kelvin Collins, Harlem Commonwealth; Rebecca Cruz, Rainbow PUSH; Reverend Jacques DeGraff, Canaan Baptist Church; Hamil Douglas, Harlem Entrepreneurial Fund; Lloyd Douglas, Lloyd Douglas Consulting Company; Hazel N. Dukes, NAACP New York State Conference; Marsha Firestone, Women Presidents’ Educational Organization; José Garcia, Surdna Foundation; Michael Garner, Metropolitan Transportation Authority; Alex Gleason, New York City Central Labor Council; Connie Grazia, Red Thread; Robert Greene, National Association of Investment Companies; Anupam Gupta, Avenues International Inc.; Jay Hershenson, City University of New York; Wayne Ho, Chinese Planning Council; Jill Houghton, Disability:IN; Azra Khalfan-Kermali, Plaques by Azra;  Gary LaBarbera and Santos Rodriquez, Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York; Bertha Lewis, The Black Institute; Vanessa Leung, CACF – Coalition for Asian American Children and Families; Jonathan Lovitz, National LGBT Chamber of Commerce; Annie Minguez, Good Shepherd Services; Marc Morial, National Urban League; Ana Oliveira, New York Women’s Foundation; Carmen Ortiz, Alternative for New America Alliance; Theo Oshiro, Make the Road New York; James Peterson, E. A. T. W/ Culinary Professionals Inc.; Jennifer Portland, Portland Spreadworks,  LLC dba Excel Rain Man; Alexandria Prather, Surdna Foundation; Pamela Prince-Eason, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council; Arva Rice, Alternative for Urban League and New York; Quentin Roach, Merck & Co.; Lillian Rodriguez Lopez, The Coca-Cola Company; Bazah Roohi, American Council Office of Minority Women; Betty Salanic, Hispanic Heritage Foundation; Reverend Al Sharpton, National Action Network; Hong Shing Lee, Chinatown Manpower Project; Blair Smith, Culture Shifting Weekend; Orin Smith, NASP; Ruben Taborda, Johnson & Johnson; Ingrid Thorp, Thorp; Javier H. Valdes, Make the Road New York; Abigail Vazquez, Aspen Institute; Elizabeth Velez, Velez Organization; Rosie von Lila, New American Alliance; Bonnie Wong, Asian Women in Business; Andis Woodlief, TSIB Inc; Joset Wright-Lact, National Minority Supplier Development; and Charles Yoon, Yoon & Kim LLP/Council of Korean Americans.

Comptroller Stringer thanks the M/WBE community for important contribution to this report, including:

Safiy Abdur-Rahman, ROM Group Inc.; Abdourazak Ali Maiga, Combative Force And Protective Services LLC; Antonius Agelink, Newton Brown Urban Design; Vladimira Asinor, Office of New York City Comptroller; Marc, WatsonRice LLP; Neeta Bhasin, ASB Communications; B. Seth Bryant, Bryant Rabbino LLP; Gregory Carballada, Foit-Albert Associates, Architecture, Engineering, Surveying P.C. – Jamaica, NY; Andy Charlery, CNC Consulting, Inc.; Daisy Chen, Compulink Technologies, Inc.; Albert Christie, Exquisite Construction; Nadine Cino, TygaBox Systems, Inc.; Sandra Cirrincione, Generation Electrical Supply & Lighting; Johanna Clark, ROM Group Inc.; Hubert Delany, Delany Group LLC; Godfrey Echendu, Promise Home Care Agency, Inc.; Bern’dette Edwards-Matthew, Analytic Construction Corp; Gene Eng, GC Eng Engineering; William Ford, K Systems Solutions; Eugenia Foxworth, Foxworth Realty; Antoinette Grant, Kemet Industries; Cipriano Guzman, BST; Sonya Harris, IAM.ECCENTRIC; Criselia Henriquez, Primeros Pasos Day Care; Ama Karikari-Yawson, Milestales; Kavon Lee, Office of the New York City Comptroller; Luella Lewis, Liberation Health Strategies; Tyrone McCants; Desmonde Monroe, The Monroe Group, LLC; Galvina Mukund, Edgesys Consulting; Kavita Nair, Edgesys Inc.; Rahul Pandey, Edgesys Consulting; Ramesh Patel, K.&V. Construction, INC-DBA-Laxman and Company; Samantha Petitfrere, Layne Lubrications LLC; Susan Rethinasamy, Office of the New York City Comptroller; Pamela Roach, Breakthrough Marketing Technology; Neville Rodney, Empire State Commercial Diving Services LLC; Thalia Ruddock, Excelsior Child Care, Inc. Theodore A. Schultz, IAG Electric, Inc.; Matt Taylor, ACDCorp; Shanel Thomas Henry, Creative Touch; Janet Vasquez, JV Public Relations NY; Carrie Villani, LERA Consulting Structural Engineers; and William Whitaker, Milhouse Engineering.

Endnotes

[1] COVID-19: Data. NYC Health. Accessed September 7, 2021, https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-data-totals.page.

[2] “Black Lives Matter may be the largest movement in U.S. History,” 3 July 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/03/us/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html.

[3] “Latino Entrepreneurs Face—and can overcome—funding obstacles,” Stanford Business, January 29, 2021, https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/latino-entrepreneurs-face-can-overcome-funding-obstacles.

[4] “Asian American-owned businesses suffer outsized toll amid pandemic,” NBC News, April 14, 2021, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/asian-american-owned-businesses-suffer-outsized-toll-pandemic-rcna678.

[5] “Survey: Business conditions improving for some small businesses, but 1 in 4 still facing closure in the next three months,” Small Business Majority, April 26, 2021, https://smallbusinessmajority.org/sites/default/files/research-reports/April-COVID-19-small-business-survey.pdf.

[6] “Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,” The White House, January 20, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government/.

[7] “Dinkins plan gives minority concerns more in contracts” The New York Times, February 11, 1992: https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/11/nyregion/dinkins-plan-gives-minority-concerns-more-in- contracts.html.

[8]  Local Law 129 of 2005: http://www.nyc.gov/html/ddc/downloads/pdf/obo/law05129.pdf

Local Law 12 of 2006: https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=445535&GUID=9602FE0C-7B53-4F48-89A7-185A39C72A1F&Options=Advanced&Search=.

[9] Local Law 1 of 2013: https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=1189797&GUID=2729B38A-BC05-4393-%209857-3295E345C694&Options=ID%7CText%7C&Search=0911-a.

[10] Local Law 174 of 2019: https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3776475&GUID=140B19AA-8A79-4DF1-9A21-BB277797201F&Options=Advanced&Search=

Local Law 176 of 2019: https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3872955&GUID=391F7DE2-91E6-4D0C-9CAC-2AC8A166BF0E&Options=Advanced&Search=.

[11] City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co. 488 U.S. 489 (1989).

[12] “Dinkins plan gives minority concerns more in contracts” The New York Times, February 11, 1992: https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/11/nyregion/dinkins-plan-gives-minority-concerns-more-in-contracts.html.

[13] “Giuliani Revamps Minority Program on City Contracts.” The New York Times, January 25, 1994: https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/25/nyregion/giuliani-revamps-minority-program-on-city-contracts.html.

[14] New York City Council, Int. 0727-2005: https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=444904&GUID=F981C035-E957-4306-887E-81E640208014&Options=ID%7CText%7C&Search=727-a.

[15] Local Law 129 of 2005: http://ddcftp.nyc.gov/inet/pdf/LocalLaw129.pdf.

[16] New York City Council, Int. 0911-2012: https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=1189797&GUID=2729B38A-BC05-4393-9857-3295E345C694&Options=ID%7CText%7C&Search=0911-a.

[17] “Mayor de Blasio and Counsel to the Mayor and M/WBE Director Maya Wiley Launch Advisory Council on Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises,” City of New York, December 14, 2015: https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/934-15/mayor-de-blasio-counsel-the-mayor-m-wbe-director-maya-wiley-launch-advisory-council-on.

[18] “Mayor de Blasio Announces Bold new Vision for the City’s M/WBE Program,” September 28, 2016: https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/775-16/mayor-de-blasio-bold-new-vision-the-city-s-m-wbe-program/#/0.

[19] “$1.8 Billion Ahead of Projections, Mayor de Blasio Announces New Goal to Award $20 Billion to M/WBEs by FY 2025,” May 30, 2018: https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/277-18/-1-8-billion-ahead-projections-mayor-de-blasio-new-goal-award-20-billion-to.

[20] “De Blasio Administration Reaches Milestone Goal of 9,000 City-Certified M/WBEs.” The Official Website of the City of New York, 8 July 2019, www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/333-19/de-blasio-administration-reaches-milestone-goal-9-000-city-certified-m-wbes.

[21] “De Blasio Administration Reaches 10,000 City-Certified M/WBEs,” August 13, 2020, https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/587-20/de-blasio-administration-reaches-10-000-city-certified-m-wbes
New York City Executive Order 59, https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/home/downloads/pdf/executive-orders/2020/eo-59.pdf.

[22] “Mayor de Blasio Increases Target for Awards for M/WBEs to $25 Billion During Business Tour at SOMOS,” City of New York, November 7, 2019, https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/529-19/mayor-de-blasio-increases-target-awards-m-wbes-25-billion-2025-during-business-tour.

[23] “Mayor de Blasio and Taskforce on Racial Equity and Inclusion Announce New Requirement to Give M/WBEs and Non-Profits Greater Ownership Stake in Affordable Housing Projects Built on City-Owned Sites,” November 19, 2020, https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/793-20/mayor-de-blasio-taskforce-racial-equity-inclusion-new-requirement-give; “Recovery for All of Us: Mayor de Blasio, Representative Meeks, Borough President Richards Announce Foundation for JFK Airport Construction, Over 20,000 Jobs,” February 22, 2021, https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/120-21/recovery-all-us-mayor-de-blasio-representative-meeks-borough-president-richards-announce.

[24] “City Launches Small Business Supports for Hard-Hit Low and Moderate Income (LMI) Communities,” November 25, 2020, https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/812-20/recovery-agenda-city-launches-small-business-supports-hard-hit-low-moderate-income-lmi-; “Recovery for All of Us: City Announces Small Business Economic Support Programs,” April 23, 2021, https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/300-21/recovery-all-us-city-annouces-small-business-economic-support-programs.

[25] “Mayor de Blasio Launches Employee Ownership NYC, Nation’s Largest Municipal Initiative to Support Employee Ownership Conversion,” December 2, 2020, https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/826-20/mayor-de-blasio-launches-employee-ownership-nyc-nation-s-largest-municipal-initiative-support.

[26] “New York City Launches Three New Mentorship Programs to Support Women and Minority-Owned Small Business Owners and Advance Black Entrepreneurship,” January 7, 2021, https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/011-21/new-york-city-launches-three-new-mentorship-programs-support-women-minority-owned-small.

[27] Executive Order No. 72, https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/home/downloads/pdf/executive-orders/2021/eo-72.pdf.

[28] “Recovery for  All of Us: Mayor de Blasio and Taskforce on Racial Inclusion and Equity Announce Juneteenth Economic Justice Plan,” June 17, 2021, https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/442-21/recovery-all-us-mayor-de-blasio-taskforce-racial-inclusion-equity-announce.

[29] “Small, Minority-Owned Businesses Face Steeper Struggles During Pandemic,” Center for Responsible Lending, May 4, 2020, https://www.responsiblelending.org/media/small-minority-owned-businesses-face-steeper-struggles-during-pandemic.

[30] “Recovery for All of Us: City Launches “Fair Share NYC: Restaurants” to Connect Restaurants to Federal Grants,” April 28, 2021, https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/314-21/recovery-all-us-city-launches-fair-share-nyc-restaurants-connect-restaurants-to.

[31] “Recovery for All: Mayor de Blasio Announces Shop Your City: BE NYC to Support Black-Owned Businesses,” February 18, 2021, https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/113-21/recovery-all-mayor-de-blasio-shop-your-city-be-nyc-support-black-owned-businesses.

“In New Report, WE NYC Program Surveys Five Years of Service to Nearly 17,000 NYC Women Entrepreneurs,” March 25, 2021, https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/221-21/in-new-report-we-nyc-program-surveys-five-years-service-nearly-17-000-nyc-women-entrepreneurs.

“City Collaborates with EY to Provide World Class Consulting Services to Black Entrepreneurs,” August 19, 2021, https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/573-21/city-collaborates-ey-provide-world-class-consulting-services-black-entrepreneurs.

[32] “Recovery for All: Mayor de Blasio Calls on the State Legislature to pass two bills” May 18, 2021, , https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/370-21/recovery-all-us-mayor-de-blasio-calls-state-legislature-pass-community-hiring-and.

[33] “DASNY Program Helps M/WBE and SDVOB to Compete for Larger NYS Contracts,” April 28^th, 2021, https://www.dasny.org/news/2021/dasny-program-help-minoritywomen-owned-business-enterprises-and-service-disabled-veteran.

[34] “$3.5 Billion in Assistance for Renters and Small Businesses,” May 25, 2021, https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-35-billion-assistance-renters-and-small-businesses.

^[35] ”Governor Cuomo Announces Completion of Laguardia Airport’s New Outer Roadway Network as Part of Airport’s $8 Billion Transformation,” June 3 2021, https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-completion-laguardia-airports-new-outer-roadway-network-part-airports.

[36] Port Authority of NYNJ, ”Port Authority Board Authorizes New Discretionary Procurement Program to Address Disparities in Utilization of Minority- and Women-Owned Businesses,” August 5, 2021, https://www.panynj.gov/port-authority/en/press-room/press-release-archives/2021-press-releases/port-authority-board-authorizes-new-discretionary-procurement-program.html.

[37] Intro 1693 of 2019: https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4133017&GUID=4448225E-F5CC-4597-901A-3663BED71132&Options=&Search=.

Intro 1314 of 2018: https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3786108&GUID=4A060880-19DB-443B-8F74-D3F567F64A9F&Options=&Search=.

[38] Int. No 901 of 2018: https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3498509&GUID=5A6075EC-42D4-47DC-B077-DF126CCFF8AD&Options=&Search=.

Int. No. 0888 of 2018: https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3498476&GUID=6E78D2BB-A4BA-4FD8-8C03-ABA62C914AEB&Options=&Search=.

[39] Int. No. 1572 of 2019: https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3963886&GUID=D2C9A25B-0036-416E-87CD-C3AED208AE1B.

[40] New York State Denounces Symbols of Hate,” January 28, 2021, https://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?default_fld=&bn=A00962&term=2021&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Text=Y&Committee%26nbspVotes=Y&Floor%26nbspVotes=Y.

[41] “Legislation Legalizing Adult-Use Cannabis,’ March 31, 2021, https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-signs-legislation-legalizing-adult-use-cannabis.

[42] “Executive Order 13985: Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government” January 20, 2021, Federal Register :: Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government .

[43] “Executive Order 13988:Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation,” January 20, 2021, https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/25/2021-01761/preventing-and-combating-discrimination-on-the-basis-of-gender-identity-or-sexual-orientation .

[44] “Condemning and Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance Against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States” January 26, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/26/memorandum-condemning-and-combating-racism-xenophobia-and-intolerance-against-asian-americans-and-pacific-islanders-in-the-united-states/ .

[45] “Executive Order on Advancing Equity, Justice, and Opportunity for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders,” May 28, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/05/28/executive-order-on-advancing-equity-justice-and-opportunity-for-asian-americans-native-hawaiians-and-pacific-islanders/ .

[46] “Tribal Consultation and Strengthening Nation-to-Nation Relationships,” January 26, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/26/memorandum-on-tribal-consultation-and-strengthening-nation-to-nation-relationships/.

[47] “Revocation of Executive Order 13950 Memo,” March 2, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/M-21-17.pdf.

[48] “Executive Orde 14020: Establishment of the White House Gender Policy Council,” March 8, 2021, https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/03/11/2021-05183/establishment-of-the-white-house-gender-policy-council.

[49] “New Actions to Build Black Wealth and Narrow the Racial Wealth Gap,” June 1, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/06/01/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-new-actions-to-build-black-wealth-and-narrow-the-racial-wealth-gap/.

[50] ”Executive Order on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce,” June 25, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/06/25/executive-order-on-diversity-equity-inclusion-and-accessibility-in-the-federal-workforce/.

[51] “Executive Order on White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity through Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” September 3, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/09/03/executive-order-on-white-house-initiative-on-advancing-educational-equity-excellence-and-economic-opportunity-through-historically-black-colleges-and-universities/.

[52] “Executive Order on White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics, September 13, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/09/13/executive-order-on-white-house-initiative-on-advancing-educational-equity-excellence-and-economic-opportunity-for-hispanics/.

[53] The full list of agency Chief Diversity Officers can be seen on the Mayor’s Office of M/WBEs website at https://www1.nyc.gov/nycbusiness/mwbe?page=contact-us.

[54] “America’s New Leaders: Biden Vowed his Cabinet would look like the country. So does it,” January 2021, https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2021/01/politics/us-cabinet-2021-demographics/.

[55] “Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,” The White House, January 20, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government/.

[56] “Investing in Diversity and inclusion at State,” US Department of State, February 24, 2021, https://www.state.gov/investing-in-diversity-and-inclusion-at-state/.

[57] “Executive Order on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce,” June 25, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/06/25/executive-order-on-diversity-equity-inclusion-and-accessibility-in-the-federal-workforce/.

[58] “Justice Department hiring first-ever chief diversity officer,’ Fox News, August 28, 2021, https://www.foxnews.com/politics/doj-hiring-first-ever-chief-diversity-officer.

^[59] ”Scott McMillion Named First FBI Chief Diversity Officer,” April 19, 2021, Federal Bureau of Investigation, https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/scott-mcmillion-named-first-fbi-chief-diversity-officer.

“SOCOM’s controversial head of diversity and inclusion is back in his job,” June 17, 2021, Military Times, https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2021/06/17/socoms-controversial-head-of-diversity-and-inclusion-is-back-in-his-job/.

[60] “Biden-Harris Announces Chief Diversity Officer,” Inclusive America, January 14, 2021, https://inclusiveamerica.org/cdio/.

[61] “Hiring of Chief Diversity Officers triples over past 16 months but representation in the workforce is still lagging,” DiversityInc., 15 March 2021, https://www.diversityinc.com/hiring-of-chief-diversity-officers-triples-over-past-16-months-but-representation-in-the-workforce-is-still-lagging/.

[62] Because of the City’s delays in payments, spending during Fiscal Year 2021 may have come from contracts awarded before the law was updated and new goals were implemented. Previous Making the Grade reports indicated that 69 percent of contracts awarded to certified M/WBE vendors were ultimately submitted to the Comptroller’s Office for registration after the contract start date, delaying payments.

[63] City of New York Executive Order 59.

[64] The NYPD was first graded in FY 2018 after its spending data was made available for the first time. Compared with FY 2018, the NYPD increased its spending with M/WBEs by more than $29 million in FY 2021.

[65] New York State Senate Bill S6513B: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2017/s6513.

[66] New York State Senate Bill S06418-A/New York State Assembly Bill A08407: https://assembly.state.ny.us/ leg/?default_fld=&leg_video=&bn=A08407&term=2019&Summary=Y.

[67] New York City Executive Order 59: https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/home/downloads/pdf/executive-orders/2020/eo-59.pdf.

[68] COVID-19: Data. NYC Health. Accessed September 7, 2021, https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-data-totals.page.

[69] “Black Lives Matter may be the largest movement in U.S. History,” 3 July 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/03/us/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html.

[70] “Latino Entrepreneurs Face—and can overcome—funding obstacles,” Stanford Business, January 29, 2021, https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/latino-entrepreneurs-face-can-overcome-funding-obstacles.

[71] “Asian American-owned businesses suffer outsized toll amid pandemic,” NBC News, April 14, 2021, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/asian-american-owned-businesses-suffer-outsized-toll-pandemic-rcna678.

[72] “Survey: Business conditions improving for some small businesses, but 1 in 4 still facing closure in the next three months,” Small Business Majority, April 26, 2021, https://smallbusinessmajority.org/sites/default/files/research-reports/April-COVID-19-small-business-survey.pdf.

[73] “Bureau of Labor Statistics Business Response Survey,” Accessed June 10, 2021, https://www.bls.gov/brs/2020-results.htm.

[74] New York City Executive Order 100, https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/home/downloads/pdf/executive-orders/2020/eeo-00.pdf.

[75] Office of the NYC Comptroller, “Comptroller Stringer Calls on Mayor de Blasio to Restore Checks and Balances to the Procurement Process,” August 25, 2020, https://comptroller.nyc.gov/newsroom/comptroller-stringer-calls-on-mayor-de-blasio-to-restore-checks-and-balances-to-the-procurement-process/.

[76] Int. No. 1572 of 2019: https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3963886&GUID=D2C9A25B-0036-416E-87CD-C3AED208AE1B.

[77] Similar assessments have been implemented across municipal departments in cities such as Austin, Texas, which developed an Equity Assessment Tool: http://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=274706.

[78] ”Comptroller Stringer: New York City’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives Should Serve as a National Model,” May 11, 2021, https://comptroller.nyc.gov/newsroom/comptroller-stringer-new-york-citys-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-initiatives-should-serve-as-a-national-model/.

“NYC Comptroller’s Boardroom Accountability 3.0 Results,” Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, June 24, 2020, https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2020/06/24/nyc-comptrollers-boardroom-accountability-3-0-results/.

[79] “McKinsey & Company’s Diversity wins: How inclusion matters,” May 19, 2020, https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/diversity-wins-how-inclusion-matters.

[80] U.S. House of Representatives HR 4207, https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/4207?s=1&r=2

[81] “Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,” The White House, January 20, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government/.

[82] LL1 M/WBE Compliance Reports, Mayor’s Office of Contract Services, https://www1.nyc.gov/site/mocs/partners/m-wbe-reports.page.