By Grant Gagnier
The pandemic has created real challenges for the construction industry overall. But there is no doubt minority- and women-owned firms (MWBEs) are being disproportionately impacted.
An August 2020 Federal Reserve Bank of New York report found that the number of Black-owned businesses in New York State fell by 70 percent from February to June. Meanwhile, city government, which is a major booster of MWBE firms, is facing a financial crisis.
This means bigger, more established construction companies have a critical role to play in creating the foundation for a better, more equitable tomorrow.
As
we continue to focus on the economic recovery of New York City and the central
role our industry will play in it, now is the time for construction leaders to
maximize partnerships with minority and underrepresented businesses across the
board – not just because it’s an important part of addressing historic
inequities, but because it will make our recovery stronger for everyone.
Those of us responsible for dozens of project sites across New York need to make sure we are adequately inclusive of MWBE businesses.
At Gilbane, we have increased our baseline goal to 20 percent MWBE participation in the five boroughs, with the commitment to raise it to 25 percent in 2022. Currently, our public portfolio has more than 50 percent MWBE participation on projects in New York City, demonstrating strong participation is possible.
Meeting
and exceeding these commitments requires an all-hands-on-deck approach. No
matter how much staff a construction firm dedicates to MWBE compliance, moving
the needle will require all staff to understand their respective role and
responsibility in driving inclusion. To this end, we’ve created an economic
inclusion task force that will draw upon leaders from across the organization
to generate innovative strategies for promoting economic inclusion and provide
a collaborative forum to shape and implement those strategies.
Our
new Gilbane Rising Contractors program will help boost promising MWBE
contractors and strengthen the supply of firms available to meet our elevated
goals. We are harnessing our internal expertise, mentorship, and advocacy to help
these firms navigate the complex world of RFPs, financial estimation, insurance
and risk management, and business development to give them the tools and
resources to help them thrive. A hallmark of the program is mentorship by a senior
member of our team who will serve as an internal champion well beyond the
formal training.
The
success of our efforts will be measured not by how many businesses we can
graduate from a training program, but by how many businesses we put to work. I
believe this type of mentorship will play a crucial role in ensuring the
conclusion of training is just the beginning of our relationship with these
firms, not the end.
Within
48 hours, we received over 120 applications for this program from New York
City-based businesses representing over 2,000 employees – underscoring the
need and opportunity to expand our contractor pipeline. Doing so will help all
of us in the long term.
New
Yorkers have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. But we have a collaborative
spirit despite the competitive nature of our industry and have always had each
other’s backs in times of crisis. Never has that willingness to lift one
another up been more important than it is now.
Grant
Gagnier is Vice President and leads the New York City Business Unit for Gilbane
Building Company.
