
The 30 Year Pendulum Swing
Where were you 30 years ago? I was finishing my bachelor’s degree, working at an interior design firm, and contemplating a move to Corpus Christi, TX. I didn’t own a computer. Cell phones were not a thing – heck I still had an answering machine with rewind button.
Thirty years ago, 10 women had a vision and started the AWC. At the time, women were highly discriminated against in this industry. The business owner founders were not seen as running their businesses and the stories of what they faced are almost unbelievable today. These highway heavy business owners, with the assistance of some strong women advocates at MnDOT, sought to empower others and affect equity in contracting. They knew there was a strong need for peer support, advocacy, networking, and education.
The AWC fought to make sure women were included and given the same opportunities as their male counterparts. They were looked at as a joke and had little access to contracts. The DBE program and other entities with contracting goals did not consider women owned as a player with legitimacy. The strong leaders of AWC planned to change that. They were in every room and at every agency advocating for women owned businesses. They showed their professionalism and knowledge at the legislature, at the AGC, with commissioners, and put women business owners on the map. They proved the legitimacy of a woman in this industry when the perception was that they were fronts. They began getting contracts and showed that they could successfully complete the projects.
The battle for inclusion has continued. We have had to fight against recent comments such as “women have been sleeping with the primes for years to get work” or “white women get all the work in this industry”. Certification puts a higher level of scrutiny on women owned businesses and some look for ways to exclude them from programs. I am consistently reporting fronts and passthroughs to keep them from taking work from the legitimate women owned businesses. I am educating that certified businesses still must be the lowest responsible bidder, and that certification isn’t a guarantee of work. Even with these barriers, I had seen the pendulum get closer to center through all the work done in this space.
The past 8 months have changed everything. The pendulum has now swung fast and far – back to the beginning. I have told you all in my last blog about the lawsuits that threaten contracting goal programs the past year. I mentioned the bill introduced in the Senate and House titled “Ending Racism in Government Contracting”. DBE goals set on projects are beginning to be amended to 0% after the injunction court ruling against the program. Yesterday President Trump signed executive order 13985 “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing”. The newly signed order dismantles DEI initiatives within the federal government. Within the next 60 days all offices and positions, all “equity action plans,” “equity” actions, initiatives, or programs, “equity-related” grants or contracts and all DEI performance requirements for employees, contractors, or grantees will be eliminated. This is just the beginning of initiatives being taken to end programs race/gender conscious programs.
As I look back on 30 years and the progress women and minorities have made in this, I am grateful to the trailblazing women that ensured women owned businesses were recognized and given opportunity. I am saddened at the backwards swing of the pendulum we are facing right now. I encourage you all to find the strength of our founders to push the pendulum. It may look different than the past, we may need to make programs race/gender neutral, we might need to adjust size standards to target economically disadvantaged small businesses, but I believe there are ways to ensure equity. One voice cannot affect change alone. I am counting on the next generation of leaders to help find solutions and ensure opportunity.
— B