Democratic New York City Council Member Julie Won expressed frustration on Tuesday over white women benefiting from the Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) Certification Program.
The program assists minorities and/or women entrepreneurs “access government contracts” and expand their business, according to the city government’s website. Won pressed First Deputy Chief Business Diversity Officer Dwight Flynn during a hearing to increase the certifications for minorities.
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“So for the total certified firms, you’re saying that we certified 11,382 [as of the end of 2025] … that already is too little. 11,382 firms for the city of New York that has $118 billion budget. 30% of that is going to contracting,” Won said. “That is an abysmal amount of money that is being — our taxpayer dollars go straight back into the hands of white people.”
“We’re going to have to get certifications up for all of the M/WBEs, but especially for looking at your breakdown of certified firms, there’s more non-minority, so white women-owned firms, 26%, than Asian-owned and Hispanic-owned and Native American-owned that are certified,” she added. “So, you’re going to have to get the certification numbers up so that we actually have people of color who are also certified, not just white women.”
The M/WBE certification increases business’ visibility to buyers, such as city agencies and private contractors seeking to buy goods and services, according to the website. Businesses also get included in the NYC Online Directory of Certified Businesses, which is a public promotional website.
Moreover, certified businesses “gain access to networking events, customized courses and targeted meetings,” according to the website. In order to qualify, a business must be majority-owned, operated and controlled by Americans citizens or permanent residents who are women and/or certain minority groups.
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