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San Diego disparity study finds under-utilization of MWBEs

The City of San Diego has released the results of its 2020 disparity study. The study examined the utilization of minority- and woman-owned businesses (MWBEs) in city contracting and found significant disparities in utilization relative to MWBE availability in the city.

The study examined the period of Q3 2014 through Q2 2019, and found that during that period, MWBEs received 19 percent of the $2.2 billion in city contracts awarded during that time, as compared against the 31 percent that could have been expected from examining MWBE availability.

City Councilmembers have expressed that a key concern in moving forward with potential remedies is Proposition 209, the California state ballot initiative from 1996 which banned gender or racial preferences in unless they are narrowly tailored and the government can be shown to have a compelling interest in instituting the remedies. Remedies suggested by the study and considered by Councilmembers include race- and gender-neutral approaches, such as: subdividing and unbundling contracts, reducing bonding requirements, enhancing the city's current Small and Local Business Enterprise (SLBE) program to include mandatory goals, and ensuring prompt payment to subcontractors.

"The ability for historically disenfranchised people to build wealth in ways they've been excluded from over the long-term and recent history is a really, really apt way to make San Diego a more fair city," said San Diego Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera.

Read a presentation on the study at https://onbase.sandiego.gov/OnBaseAgendaOnline/Documents/ViewDocument/600-Disparity%20Study%20Results_Council_Presentation_Item_600.pdf?meetingId=4497&documentType=Agenda&itemId=199576&publishId=498391&isSection=false.