Repost: Local women business owners benefit from state initiative

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo made it a priority last year to connect women and minority-owned businesses with state contracts. He announced in October that the Department of Economic Development had awarded a record 21.06 percent in state contracts to such firms, exceeding its goal of 20 percent.

Mark DiOrio / Observer-Dispatch
Lynne Angelicola of R.O.I. Office Interiors received her Women Business Enterprise Certification in August, giving her the opportunity to bid on office interior contract that are funded by the state. Angelicola looks at a sample board of office materials for the Utica College Harza Building Site, Jan 6, 2014 in Rome, N.Y.

by Philip A. Vanno
Posted Jan. 14, 2014

Over the past 20 years, Lynne Angelicola, president of Roberts Office Interiors, has had to juggle running her Rome-based commercial office furniture dealership and interior design operation while taking care of her home and raising two children.

While she's had plenty of help from her husband, Robert, who runs the company's sales department, perhaps her biggest aid came in August when, after a lengthy application process, her business became certified as a Women Business Enterprise by the New York State Department of Economic Development.

"We were very excited when it was finally approved," Angelicola said. "This provides us with many new opportunities that we wouldn't have had before, and we have already started to see the effects."

Since receiving the distinction, which was instituted by the state to eliminate barriers and discrimination and expand the participation of women-owned businesses in the state contracting process, Roberts Office Interiors has landed a $400,000 contract to outfit a new building at SUNY Binghamton, and has a handful of other projects in the works with other SUNY schools.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo made it a priority last year to connect women and minority-owned businesses with state contracts. He announced in October that the Department of Economic Development had awarded a record 21.06 percent in state contracts to such firms, exceeding its goal of 20 percent.

In all, $1.48 billion in contracts from 97 public agencies and authorities were awarded to women and minority-owned business enterprises in fiscal year 2012-1013.

"The diversity in this state is one of our greatest assets … and we remain committed to leveling the playing field for thousands of small businesses and opening the door to greater economic activity and job growth," Cuomo said in a news release. "The success of thousands of minority- and women-owned firms seeking to compete and advance in the marketplace is critical to igniting economic growth and spurring prosperity in all of our communities statewide."

Another beneficiary of the program is Jennifer Keida, who started JRT Construction Services in Marcy three years ago in an attempt to capitalize off of the experience and contacts she accumulated during her 13 years as chief operations officer for her father's business, Standard Insulating Co.

While she still maintains her role with that company, Keida said she is very eager to expand her horizons with her new venture, especially since receiving her certification as a Women Business Enterprise last month.

"Being a woman in the construction field, I have worked just as hard as anyone, but this gives me an opportunity to showcase my talents that might have otherwise been overlooked," Keida said. "The doors this is going to open should make 2014 a good year."

Follow @OD_Vanno on Twitter or call him at 792-5074.

View the original article at http://www.uticaod.com/article/20140114/NEWS/140109694#ixzz2qU6GN0fe.

Repost: The data behind the city’s boost in MWBE contracting goals

An extremely data-rich May 8, 2013 article about Houston, TX, raising their W/MBE goal from 22% to 34%.

Interestingly, they removed the WBE goal after a 2009 lawsuit. The lawsuit required a disparity study, which they have now done, and the city has now re-included WBEs in their goal. Even more interestingly, after the WBE goals were dropped in 2009, the use of WBEs was cut in half. No such drop was found in MBEs. More evidence that goals matter.

Workforce participation goals are not address in this article.

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Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Houston City Council on Wednesday unanimously passed changes to the city’s affirmative action program, increasing small, minority- and women-owned businesses target share of construction work from 22 percent to 34 percent, and adding women back to the program (they’d been removed in a 2009 lawsuit settlement).

Here is today’s story for more background, and here is a story explaining the 2009 settlement. There are three items we didn’t have space for in the story that are worth noting here.

First, some numbers. Those around the council table praised the goal increase as a big deal today, but Houston already exceeded that goal, reaching 34.4 percent in fiscal year 2011, when the stated goal for construction was still 22 percent. The city also reached 32.4 percent participation last fiscal year.

Mayor Annise Parker has said repeatedly that small and minority firms were awarded more work during the last fiscal year (FY2012, which ended last June) than ever before. It turns out that’s not only true in construction work ($229 million) but overall ($340 million) and as an overall percentage of total work performed (25.7 percent). This is true at least back to 2005, the oldest year for which I have data. (Click here for a spreadsheet showing all the data.)

Also worth mentioning: Of the $229 million awarded in FY2012, certified firms were prime contractors for $105.8 million, or 46 percent, of the work, and were subcontractors on $123 million, or 54 percent, of the work. The substantial prime contracting share proves the program does not impede competition, said Carlecia Wright, director of the city’s Office of Business Opportunity, adding that subcontractors also must be qualified.

Second, the disparity study. The 2009 lawsuit settlement required a disparity study of city contracting to determine whether the city was justified in including women. After analyzing $2.82 billion in contracts over more than five years, the study showed that Hispanic and Native American business owners were receiving a parity of work but that firms owned by blacks, Asians and women were underrepresented (and that women’s share of city construction business was cut in half following the 2009 settlement). See slides 3-5 of this presentation, they’re really interesting.

After the City Council vote today, Women Contractors Association president Lenora Sorola-Pohlman said it was unfortunate her members had to wait five years to reenter the program.

“We’re happy women are back on the program. We’ll flourish like we did before,” she said. “Hopefully we don’t flourish so well they remove us again. It was only because of the goal they were hiring us. I was happy to see it was a unanimous vote, which doesn’t happen very often.”

View the original article at http://blog.chron.com/houstonpolitics.