Certifications

Select Certification DBE MBE WBE SBE DVBE HUB Section 3 ELBE SLBE

State

Select a State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District Of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Study finds minorities, women excluded from Shelby County contracting

Significant racial and gender disparities exist in Shelby County's public contracting process, according to a study released last week.

Among the findings were that between 2012 and 2015, 88.3 percent of country contracts are awarded to firms owned by white men, while African-American businesses -- regardless of the owner's gender -- received 5.8 percent. White women-owned companies, in comparison, received 5 percent, with the remainder divided among Hispanic, Asian, and Native American-owned businesses.

The county does not currently have a race- and gender-conscious program in place to help advocate for minority and women-owned businesses compete for county projects, and it is not clear yet if the county intends to establish one.

However, County Commissioner Steve Basar has proposed that the City of Memphis, Shelby County Schools, and the county itself team up to work towards greater including in region's public procurements.