Check Your Webster's
There's a new definition for 'minority-owned business.'
The definition of a minority-owned firm has come under some
scrutiny lately, due to a controversial move by the National
Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC).
NMSDC asked its board of directors to allow firms to be
considered minority-owned despite non-minority ownership of up to
70 percent of their non-voting stock, giving rise to enough
controversy that the board agreed to postpone its decision until
late this month. "There was initially erroneous publicity
about the proposal," says NMSDC executive director Harriet
Michel, "and we've been trying to combat that."
Under the proposal, minority-owned firms would maintain daily
control of the companies, 51 percent of the voting equity and a
majority on the board. Each request would be decided individually.
However, opponents say the new requirements will open the door for
businesses only fronted by minorities and allow corporations to
meet diversity goals by giving contracts to a few large
"minority-owned" firms, leaving smaller companies out in
the cold.
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For more information, visit the NMSDC Web site at http://www.nmsdcus.org
Contact Source
National Minority Supplier Development Council, (212)
944-2430, http://www.nmsdcus.org