Del. Procurement Study Finds Race, Gender Disparities

A study ordered by the Delaware General Assembly into state procurement practices has found race-and-gender disparities.
Legislative leaders said Wednesday that the MGD Consulting 2022 Disparity Study was one of the most comprehensive reviews ever conducted into state contracts. It determined that businesses owned by women received less than 3% of total state contracting dollars from 2015 to 2020 that were reviewed by the study. Firms owned by people of color received less than 7% over that same time period.
The study examined data from the Office of Management and Budget, Department of Health and Social Services and Department of Correction. It reportedly found no inherent or built-in barriers that intentionally restrict or constrain any businesses from taking part in state procurement and contracting, but the study did find “there is still room for OMB and other relevant procurement partners to work more collaboratively with all state agencies to increase awareness, interest and participation in procurement and contracting.”

To read the disparity study, please CLICK HERE

“In partnership with Governor Carney, in recent years we have put greater emphasis on providing critical early-stage support to small, local businesses, particularly those in communities of color,” Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend, D-Newark area said. “While that was a good first step away from historical inequalities and inequities, the disparity study released this week makes it abundantly clear that there is still so much more that can and must be done to achieve equity in economic opportunities in the First State. If we truly care about promoting prosperity for all Delawareans, if we truly want to create jobs in historically disadvantaged communities, and if we truly want to help hardworking people of all backgrounds to build equity and wealth, we have to start by putting our money where our mouth is. We have to commit ourselves to taking deliberate actions that will remove the barriers preventing qualified businesses owned by people of color from winning state contracts, and we need to start that work immediately.”   

A few recommendations were highlighted:

• Use of project-specific and overall diversity goals; 
• Adopt a narrowly tailored program to promote supplier diversity; 
• Use a vendor rotation system for smaller contracts; 
• Enhance record retention and data collection; and 
• Expand outreach and training for federally certified disadvantaged businesses. 

“Over the last several years, we’ve made progress statewide in supporting small, minority- and women-owned businesses,” Governor John Carney said. “But this report makes clear that we have a lot of work ahead of us to make sure all Delaware firms have access to State contracting business. That’s important work and we remain committed to making progress and expanding economic opportunity up and down our state.”  

“While the State of Delaware was commended for the open and transparent manner in which it conducts business, offers vendor training and resources, and encourages competition; despite these ongoing efforts, this report illustrates major disparities in awarded contracts across multiple categories,” Office of Management and Budget Director Cerron Cade stated. “The Office of Management and Budget looks forward to working with state partners and legislators to improve vendor diversity, equity and inclusion with the goal of obtaining better economic outcomes for all citizens of the state.” 

“The disparity study shows that while Delaware is doing a lot of things right, there still is plenty of room for improvement. As with many efforts to increase participation in longstanding situations, it’s not always enough to open opportunities, but we must take active steps to help new players get their foot in the door,” Delaware Legislative Black Caucus Chair, Representative Kendra Johnson, D-Bear said. “By actively helping minority- and women-owned businesses get that first state contract, we will then be truly opening doors for businesses. And by increasing the pool of qualified applicants for contracts, it means that the quality of services the state receives will only increase.”