Published by Mason Tillman Associates, Ltd.

The objective of the City of Oakland’s disparity study was to determine if available Minority and Woman-owned Business Enterprises (M/WBE) were underutilized on the City of Oakland’s prime contracts during the July 1, 2011, to June 30, 2016 study period. Based on the data, African American contractors won 17 or 3.21% of the construction contracts during the study period. The top earners, “Non-minority Males,” won 366 or 69.06% of the contracts. African American firms received 44 or 2.92% of the professional services prime contracts, while “non-minority males' ' received 1,069 or 70.84% of the professional services contracts. Minority-owned businesses account for 19.77% of construction, professional services, services, and goods and commodities prime contractors. The data showed that non-minority males are afforded a preference in the award of City contracts. There is evidence of racial and gender discrimination, given the size of the contracts awarded by the City and the evidence of the size of contracts awarded to minority and women-owned businesses. Minority-owned businesses account for 20.65% of construction and professional services subcontractors. Woman-owned businesses account for 13.51%, and non-minority male-owned businesses account for 72.29%. The report identified areas for assistance moving forward.