Boston awarded $664m in contracts. Less than 1% went to women- and minority-owned businesses

Less than 1 percent of the $664 million Boston awarded last year for contracts for construction and professional goods and services went to minority- or women-owned businesses, according to data released Thursday that paint a dire picture of the city’s quest for more equity in taxpayer-funded contracts.

The tallies were the first annual figures released pursuant to an ordinance that requires quarterly reporting on discretionary contracts. The contracts involve such expenses as buying paper products, construction, and landscaping projects.

“This is something entirely within the city’s control, being able to direct where our taxpayers’ dollars are going, and then being able to squeeze everything out of those dollars in aligning them with our public policy goals,” said City Councilor Michelle Wu, who cosponsored the initiative, which passed in late 2017.

Celina Barrios-Millner, the director of equity and inclusion for the city’s Office of Economic Development, acknowledged during a council hearing on Thursday that the numbers were troubling.

Read more: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/05/02/the-city-awarded-million-contracts-last-year-only-percent-went-minority-owned-businesses/K4Tt04GndWBF1MHdvipcNP/story.html