- Ending race/sex-based hiring aims to create a level playing field for all businesses.
- Critics argue this is a form of bigotry, while supporters say it promotes fairness.
- The focus should be on whether the program provides value to citizens, not individual characteristics.
Left Loses Its Head After Braun Ends Indiana Discrimination
Is the pursuit of equality and fairness in government contracting a myth or a reality in the state of Indiana? A recent decision to move away from hiring based on race or sex has sparked heated debates among state officials and business owners.
The decision, which aims to promote a level playing field for all businesses, has been met with resistance from some quarters. According to Denise Hurd, co-chair of the Government Affairs Committee for the National Association of Women Business Owners, “Women-owned businesses have consistently demonstrated that they can compete and succeed on merit. The issue has never been about capability. It has been about access to opportunity.”
Larry Smith, the Indianapolis African American Quality of Life Initiative, agrees that the current system is not fair. “Our businesses can compete when the playing field is level, when it is fair, when it is applied equally,” he says. Critics like Smith argue that the decision to end hiring based on race or sex is a form of bigotry…