Mayor Martin J. Walsh will issue an executive order Thursday afternoon setting procurement goals for “minority- and woman-owned businesses in the city,” in response to a study that showed businesses owned by people of color and white women were massively underrepresented in contracts awarded by the city of Boston.
During his regular City Hall COVID-19 briefing, Walsh will announce an executive order “designed to support equitable procurement policies, following the completion of a citywide disparity study,” according to his office. The order would establish procurement goals, tracking and accountability measures, and a “supplier diversity program” to expand opportunities, his office said in a release.
Companies owned by people of color landed just 2.5 percent of the $2.1 billion in contracts for construction and professional goods and services that Boston awarded during Walsh’s first term, according to a report the city commissioned. Fewer than half of the city’s residents are white, according to US census data.
The study — aimed at uncovering disparities in the way the city spends its dollars — analyzed 47,801 contracts from 2014 to 2019. It showed the city spent $185 million, or 8.5 percent of its contract and procurement dollars, with businesses owned by white women.
This will be the third executive order Walsh has issued to improve contracting participation rates in the city.
Thursday’s announcement comes a day after a trio of Black and Latino organizations filed a federal civil rights complaint against the city, alleging its public contracting system engages in a pattern of discrimination against Black- and Latino-owned businesses.
The executive order also comes during the mayor’s waning days at City Hall, as Walsh is expected to soon become the nation’s next labor secretary. Councilor Kim Janey, the city council president, will become acting mayor once Walsh leaves.
This story will be updated. Shirley Leung of Globe staff contributed to this report.
Danny McDonald can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Danny__McDonald.
