Suppliers

What is supplier diversity?

Earlier, we learned that diversity involves being diligent concerning hiring qualified team members of various genders, ethnicities, ages and/or sexual orientations.

Supplier diversity means your organization is proactively working with firms that are minority-owned, woman-owned, veteran-owned, LGBT-owned, etc. These groups are necessary for reflecting on your core client demographics and contributory to illustrate what the organization presently lacks.

What qualifies a minority-owned business? And why might you want to look beyond minority business start-ups?

In the US, minority businesses must be at least 51% minority-owned, operated and controlled.

However, the process to become certified as such is tedious because the government and other certifying organizations often require expensive fees and/or a long list of documentation and evidence to substantiate minority status and experience. Because of this, a small minority business might not bother pursuing the certification.

TIP: Bärí advises to look beyond certification for minority-owned companies. She says a better strategy is to build relationships with minority vendors and suppliers that complement your services.