Kayla Lewis

Back in June, (Democrat) Governor Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania launched new policies to give more opportunity for smaller businesses to compete for state government contracts. These smaller businesses are run by minority women, LGBTQIA+, veterans,  and disabled groups. These policies will help these businesses be more established and accomplished in this economy.

            The mission of this policy, along with others like it, is to make the process more inclusive and diverse. Let’s face it, minority businesses are still sometimes overlooked and are not given the same resources as other businesses run by white, straight men. Gov. Wolf and his team launched a project in 2015 that introduced many policies regarding diversity and inclusion. It is known as the, “Diversity, Inclusion and Small Business Opportunities in Commonwealth Procurement and in Pennsylvania’s Economy” executive order. Overall it is meant to help smaller, minority-owned businesses have the same access to state contracts.

 This is a great initiative for the state of Pennsylvania and I hope that other states can be inspired (if they don’t already hold policies like this). Since minority- run businesses are on a rise, and have been for the past decade, policies need to implemented to ensure equality and equal opportunity.