Resources
Key Components for Business Diversity Programs
- Include vision, values
- Define commitment to diversity among workforce and suppliers
- Establish initiatives and milestones for use of diverse subcontractors, suppliers
- Establish milestones for jobs with and payments made to diverse companies
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Ensure DEI staff are sufficiently resourced and visible.
- Value of diversity and specific guidance on how it can be accomplished, improved and measured
- Unconscious/Implicit bias training (Example of materials: https://gradschool.cornell.edu/diversity-inclusion/faculty-resources/implicit-bias-resources/)
- Focus on positive impacts, solicit volunteer employee facilitators
- Give strong direction to help managers overcome ingrained thinking and habits
- Target conferences, associations, universities devoted to minorities, women, underrepresented groups
- Promote diverse employees and train into leadership roles
- Develop a mentoring program
- Form diverse teams that allow people to work together on projects that increase contact among cross-section of employees
- Proactively cultivate diverse suppliers
- Assist diverse suppliers with capacity building
- Partner with local organizations to identify diverse businesses
- Require procurement practices that include diverse suppliers
- Host local supplier diversity events to foster growth
- Create a diversity dashboard or other tracking tool to provide real-time stats on the makeup of your workforce
- Monitor diverse supplier inclusion and spend
- Track completion of goals, payments to MWBE companies, maintain lists of diverse contractors/subcontractors, and the total economic impact of your BDP on the diversity community
How to Find Certified Firms
As certification authority for the City of Chicago, the Department of Procurement Services (DPS) maintains the highest commitment to diversity, transparency & innovation while expanding resources and programs that empower citizens to become involved in the contracting opportunities.
- DPS has certified approximately 2,500 new and renewing firms that are minority, women-owned or disadvantaged businesses.
- We have an obligation in government to ensure that all firms have an opportunity to participate in contracts that are paid for with taxpayer dollars.
Types of Certification
- Minority-Owned Business Enterprise (MBE)
- Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE)
- Business Enterprises Owned or Operated by People with Disabilities (BEPD)
- Veteran-Owned Business Enterprise (VBE)
- Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE)
- Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (ACDBE)
Chicago Certified Firms Directory
Locate certified firms on the DPS website at the following link: https://chicago.mwdbe.com
Search for certified firms by a number of criteria, including: Name, Description, Commodity Code, Location, Certification Type, Ward, Community Area.
City of Chicago Assist Agencies
- Assist Agencies are not-for-profit agencies and/or chamber of commerce agencies that represent the interest of small, minority and/or women owned businesses.
- Assist Agencies maintain lists of certified firms that are ready to be utilized as subcontractors.
- The current Assist Agency list is always available at chicago.gov/assistagency