Confessions of a "Woman Owned Business" Owner

Tama Starr's "Confessions of a 'Woman Owned Business' Owner" (July) made me smile. Decades ago I received a phone call from a representative of the long-departed Mountain Bell, the West's legacy from the AT&V breakup. He had found my name on a list of women in business and wanted to know if I would sign up for their special program for women-owned businesses.

When I explained that two humans, my husband and myself, owned and ran our little research and consulting firm, he told me he could send me work, guaranteed, if we would just incorporate our business with me as the owner and majority stockholder. I told him I was proud of our work and we would be happy to apply through the front door and compete with other businesses--even with (gasp) businesses owned and run by men. But he was in desperate need of WOBs to fill his quotas and said that if I insisted on being a regular business, he had no work for me.

The representative was very nice and eager to sign me up, and he seemed very puzzled when I turned him down; I was the only one of dozens of women who had said no. I won't judge people who sign up for similar programs, but I do take some pride in the fact that our business has never earned a penny in 29 years that was the result of any type of set-aside program.

Pat Wagner

Pattern Research

Denver, CO

Tama Starr accurately portrayed the absurdities of set-aside regulations. For several years I worked for a company that did contract work for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The work involved clean-up of Boston Harbor, and set-asides for VCBEs (women business enterprises) and MBEs (minority business enterprises) were mandatory for bidding contractors. For one proposal to the state, I interviewed a large environmental laboratory that was certified as a minority-owned business. I toured its facility and met the management to determine their qualifications.

I saw at least a dozen employees; none was a minority. It turned out that the owner, whom I did not meet, was an Asian Indian; according to Massachusetts regulations, this qualified the company as an MBE. Why are Massachusetts citizens responsible for compensating the offspring of those who may have been aggrieved by century-old British imperialism?

It's also ironic that if someone wished to discriminate against this company on the basis of race, the most convenient way to see if it was owned by a minority would be to check that state's list of certified MBEs.

Robert Larkin

Center Sandwich, NH

Tama Starr's article was the most refreshing thing you have published in a long time. Your articles usually leave me feeling depressed, frustrated, or angry. This one left me laughing and optimistic. When injustices become laughable, it is the beginning of hope.

Ardell L.D. Taylor

Patagonia, AZ

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