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Understanding the 2019 Report on Washington State’s Disparity Study
The Washington State Disparity Study was commissioned by the Department of Enterprise Services on behalf of the Governor’s Subcabinet on Business Diversity to help the state determine the level of disparity in participation by business enterprises owned by minorities, women and veterans in state contracts for public works, goods and services and client services. The study was published on June 19, 2019. The term disparity refers to the condition of something being unequal. Thus, the disparity study was intended to collect data and analyze evidence about both the availability of minority-, women- and veteran-owned business enterprises and the level of utilization of such businesses in state contracts. The ratio of the utilization of a particular demographic group over the group’s weighted availability results in the disparity ratio. For this study, the authors were unable to compile sufficient data regarding veteran-owned business availability and utilization to complete any disparity analysis for veteran-owned businesses. Instead, the authors collected qualitative evidence regarding possible discriminatory barriers faced by veteran- owned businesses. The authors found that of the 224 minority-, women, and veteran-owned business enterprises they interviewed, none of them “reported barriers on the basis of having served in the military.” The results of this study, therefore, only include disparity ratios and analyses for businesses owned by the following demographic groups: • African American • Asian • Hispanic • White women • Other (referred to as Non-MWBE) Collectively, African American-, Asian-, Hispanic- and White women-owned business enterprises comprise the group described as “M/WBE” contractors in the study. To compile relevant data and perform this analysis, the study authors collected information from 31 state agencies and two public institutions of higher education in the state of Washington for fiscal years 2012 through 2016. They constructed a spreadsheet that contained data fields for all elements required for them to complete the disparity analysis. Where the complete data required for the analysis was not available from the state, the study authors conducted research to complete the data fields as needed. The Final Contract Data File used by the study authors for their analysis contained 3,303 total contracts. 613 of these were prime contracts and 2,690 were subcontracts. Of the dollars spent and associated with these contracts, $2,596,300,922, or 74.5%, went to prime contractors. Subcontractors received $888,352,435, or 25.5%, of the total contract dollars.
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