The State of Minority- and Women- Owned ... - Cleveland.com

Anecdotal Evidence of Disparities in the City of Cleveland’s Market Area
5. Solicitation and Use of M/WBEs on Public and Private Projects Without
Affirmative Action Goals
Our second to last survey question asked, “How often do prime contractors who use your firm as
a subcontractor on public-sector projects with requirements for minority, women and/or
disadvantaged businesses also hire your firm on projects (public or private) without such goals or
requirements?” As Table 8.9 shows, 69 percent of African American-owned firms, 50 percent of
Hispanic-owned firms, 73 percent of Asian-owned firms, 67 percent of Native American-owned
firms, and 59 percent of nonminority female-owned firms responded that this seldom or never
occurs. Similar results were observed in each major procurement category as well, though for
Hispanics in Construction the incidence was substantially lower than for other groups or in other
procurement categories.
At least one court has held that the failure of prime contractors to even solicit qualified minority-
and women-owned firms is a “market failure” that serves to establish a government’s compelling
interest in remedying that failure. 315 Among the evidence relied upon for this holding was a
NERA survey similar to the current one in which approximately 50 percent of the respondents
reported that they were seldom or never solicited for non-goals work. 316
315 Builders Association of Greater Chicago v. Authority of Chicago, 298 F.Supp.2d 725, 737 (N.D. Ill. 2003).
316 Id.
NERA Economic Consulting 280