Don’t Settle for the Crumbs. Go for the Cake

In my previous blog, I talked about the importance of elevating our networking efforts into collective action to provide more opportunities for disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs) in government contracting I’ve spent the past two years spreading this message and uniting small businesses across the country and I can tell you that the biggest threat to collective action among disadvantaged business owners comes down to one factor: blame.

Generally, there are three types of blame when you ask people to identify who is responsible for the disparate outcomes in government contracting (i.e., that businesses owned by white men get disproportionately more of the contracting funds than other groups).

The first source of blame is the self. Disadvantaged business owners, especially those struggling to secure contracts, often buy into the meritocratic lie that their successes and failures are primarily the result of their own efforts. They tend to see the inequities as a result of their own inability to do what needs to be done to access the right networks, identify good-fit bids, prepare a strong proposal, or–worse–to do the work.

The second source of blame is the individual. It has similar flavors to blaming the self but this is more common among those who have managed to successfully navigate public procurement despite the obstacles in their way. Since they have done it (“Swerve, idiot.”), they expect others to have the knowledge, skill set, and resources to do the same. While they don’t necessarily deny that barriers exist, they have proven that those can be overcome and they expect others to do the same.

The third, and the most nefarious, source of blame is the other. This is when members of a particular disadvantaged group direct the blame toward other marginalized groups who (on average) are more successful in the procurement space but still struggle to adequately compete. Unfortunately, this is incredibly common among DBEs because individuals from different identities, backgrounds, and experiences are lumped together into a single category of ‘disadvantaged’ and we are primed to see each other as competitors.

Why play the blame game?

Because blame determines responsibility: when we identify the source of a problem, we can also identify the solution. If the problem is me, then my actions alone should fix it. But we all know that isn’t true. And the disparity study data back us up. The problem is systemic and widespread and the solution is institutional.

But we’re constantly fooled by the aforementioned false narratives, which all serve to perpetuate structural inequities by distracting us from the true source of responsibility: government agencies. When we blame ourselves and each other, we absolve institutions and those who act on their behalfs from accountability. We displace blame to the detriment of ourselves and those just like us. We displace responsibility to the advantage of others not like us.

Do not get distracted.

Recognize that the hurdles you experience as a disadvantaged business entity are created through decades of inequitable procurement processes, procedures, and requirements. Recognize that the difficulties we all face make us more similar than different. Recognize that while we are fighting for the crumbs amongst ourselves, they are enjoying the whole damn cake.

In public procurement, disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs)—including minority-owned businesses, women entrepreneurs, and veteran contractors—face significant challenges in accessing opportunities. These systemic barriers are compounded by internalized blame and division, making it even harder to achieve equity.

But you are not a victim. You are a powerhouse. You are a source of change.

To break free from these destructive patterns, we need to unite. Our greatest strength lies in collective action. By coming together, sharing resources, and amplifying each other's voices, we can form a force more powerful than the sum of our parts. This unity shows we are allies, not competitors, in the fight for equitable treatment.