08/17/2026
NC Senate Bill 257 officially repealed M/WBE (Minority and Woman Owned Business Entity) status and removed procurement requirements surrounding it.
We are going to see an immediate effect on our M/WBEs. Participation goals were set in public contracts because of marked disparities between M/WBEs and non-M/WBEs, with majority white, male companies taking the vast majority of contracts.
We are so ashamed of our Senate for allowing this to occur. Decades of small progress undone for the few companies to continue taking the majority of contracts, and now with no requirements to subcontract to statistically disadvantaged companies.
NC essentially said, our experiences as M/WBEs are not important to them or the betterment of our communities, when we have access to less funding, less opportunities, and encounter gatekeepers when we attempt to get involved in public contracts. Such a disappointment...