1.
STATEMENT
PENNSYLVANIA ADVISORY COMMITTEE
U.S. COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS
BARRIERS FACING “MINORITY” AND WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES
IN PENNSYLVANIA
AUGUST 5, 2002
Submitted by
Marilyn Kai Jewett, member
Pennsylvania MBE/WBE Statewide Taskforce
I was invited to participate in this panel as a member of the Pennsylvania Minority
Business Enterprise/Women’s Business Enterprise Statewide Task Force. However, I am
speaking specifically as a businessperson of color in Pennsylvania.
In December 2001, I attended a task force meeting to discuss widespread inequities in the
Commonwealth’s M/WBE Program, which is administered by the Department of General
Services. Representatives from over 40 businesses owned by people of color and women came
together in an organized effort to develop concrete recommendations in response to the Auditor
General’s audit of the state’s M/WBE Program. I and other business people were invited to
participate because it was rightly decided that recommendations for corrective action should
come from those directly affected by the inequities uncovered by the audit.
The mission of the task force is to increase awareness of systemic problems and to offer
recommendations to level the playing field for businesses owned by people of color and women
regarding participation in government contracts. The goals of the task force are to 1)ensure that
state officials demonstrate a greater commitment to businesses owned by people of color and
women by working more aggressively on their behalf; 2)ensure that government officials comply
with and enforce all program requirements; 3)require state and local government officials to
review and practice all written policies to ensure fair and equitable treatment of these businesses
and 4)require state and local authorities to actively ensure that all prospective firms or M/WBEs
meet requirements for certification and resolve in a timely manner, any questions concerning
eligibility.
The major benefit of M/WBE certification is that it supposedly provides people of color
and women with an equal opportunity to participate in government contracts and ensures that
they will not be denied opportunities because of race or gender. In most cases, supposedly
because of their smaller size, most of these businesses work as subcontractors for white-owned
businesses. DGS sets target participation rates for state agencies to follow before contracts can
be awarded. This means that qualified female-owned businesses should be included in at least 3
percent of a contract and qualified businesses owned by people of color should participate in at
least 10 percent of a contract. We all know that this is not happening.
The audit found that DGS failed to monitor or investigate awarded contracts to ensure
that these businesses were utilized and paid. During my interaction with others on the task force,
some of whom were former DGS employees, I found that white contractors were able to get
around requirements to use people of color and women on contracts and often received favorable
treatment with the assistance and knowledge of DGS officials. White contractors routinely use
female family members to front as WBE businesses and even go so far as to fabricate M/WBEs.

2.
A female task force member told how a white prime contractor asked if they could use her name
on a contract in exchange for her taking 1 percent of the contract with no real participation.
One task force member who previously served in the investigation division of DGS’s Bureau of
Contract Administration and Business Development, intimated that “the legal department does
not take a stand even with documentation.” He also said staff reports on fraudulent activities are
“routinely dismissed.” Other former DGS staff members also echoed those sentiments and said
that there is a total lack of equity in terms of people of color within DGS itself. In fact, several
of them were in the process of filing or had filed discrimination charges against the agency.
Those within DGS who were intent on doing their job correctly by reporting inequities and
expecting something to be done about them often found their heads on the chopping block.
Even though Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes 4107.2 addresses penalties for
deception in certification of M/WBE organizations, it is not enforced by DGS officials or the
Attorney General’s Office. It is clear that the system as it is today is ineffective.
That’s why the task force recommended the creation of the Pennsylvania
Minority/Women Business Enterprise Commission as an independent entity to manage
government contracting and procurement. The commission, which would be appointed by the
governor and confirmed by the General Assembly, would establish and follow written policies
and procedures regarding certification of M/WBEs and the awarding of contracts. It also would
have the authority to make referrals to the Attorney General for investigation of suspected fraud.
In response to the work of the task force, DGS recently established a regulation that
would restrict participation in the M/WBE program to eight years. Although, I and other
members of the task force find this move reprehensible, it is really a joke. At present, being
certified an M/WBE in Pennsylvania means little to nothing. Most of the businesses owned by
people of color which are certified have never received any work. Many business people, such
as myself, who are not certified, feel that it’s a futile exercise and a waste of time.
In cities like Philadelphia and Harrisburg, people of color are the majority population and
the term minority no longer applies to us. In fact, some of us feel that referring to a race of
people as a “minority” is a supremacist term which never applied to us. I feel it’s time for people
of color, who are approximately 14 percent of the population in Pennsylvania, to get our share of
contracts. That means prime contracts, not subcontracts relegated to so-called “minorities.”
However, we are aware that the situation in the state’s M/WBE program is reflective of the
pervasive racism in the political and economic system of this nation. Only time will tell if things
will change in Pennsylvania. Meanwhile the task force will continue to push our agenda
forward.