Urge Support of Prop 16 to Level the Playing Field and Increase Opportunities for AAPI, Women and Minority Businesses
India Post News Service
CALIFORNIA: Leaders from across the state joined together for a virtual Business Roundtable in support of Prop 16 on September 10 to discuss how Asian Americans and Pacific Islander (AAPI) owned businesses can succeed in California. Prop 16 not only advances diversity in our communities but also levels the playing field for minority owned businesses.
Speakers at the roundtable were notable AAPI leaders including California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, Assembly member Ash Kalra, President and CEO of CalAsian Chamber of Commerce Pat Fong Kushida, President & CEO of the Southern California Minority Supplier Development Council Virginia Gomez and President of Briteworks, Inc., Anita Ron.
As experts on the impacts of small businesses, speakers recounted the $1.1 billion loss of annual government contracts that prevented minority and women-owned businesses from flourishing. Chambers and businesses that Support for Prop-16 recognize we need to catch up with the rest of the country and start providing equal opportunity for all business owners.
Assembly member Ash Kalra recognized that “Proposition 16 creates equal opportunity for business, it creates equality for businesses who have been at it a long time.” Pat Fong Kushida echoed on the inequity front Assembly member Kalra was speaking of with the fact that “Asian American owned businesses in San Francisco metropolitan region were awarded only 6% of public contracts and 7% of total contracting dollars even though Asian Americans represented 21% of the population.”
The passionate President of BriteWorks Anita Ron really echoed her own fight against inequality as she built her business up brick by brick. She personally knows the barriers caused by Proposition 209 noting that “Proposition 16 will eliminate a lot of these barriers and help support us, not only with contracts, but it will create jobs, we will be able to employ people to do this.” Not only does Anita Ron think Prop 16 will create equal opportunities for contracts, but supporting the proposition goes far beyond contracts. She states, “Mentorships and technical assistance programs will help our economy grow along with contracts. We have got to start letting the playing field open.”
California State Treasurer, Fiona Ma, finished out the small business roundtable and stated, “You can’t game the system when you are shut out of the system.” Her sentiment tied the discussion together calling for equal opportunity for small businesses throughout the state. “This is all about equity. If we want to promote equity in our great state of California then we need to make sure we have the data and that we are able to lobby effectively for these opportunities especially in business and contracting rolls.”
Moderated by Van Tamom, the business roundtable provided great insight to the benefits Prop 16 would bring to AAPI businesses and communities. Being able to fairly compete for government contracts allows more opportunity for minority and women-owned businesses to thrive.
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