Confessions of a "Woman-Owned Business" Owner

How I learned to love quotas.

Tama Starr from the July 2004 issue

(Page 4 of 4)

Gulp. "I consider that I was being naive."

My confession evidently satisfied them. It even invited their confidence: For the rest of the meeting they described their frustration at the shortage of applicants. Even they can see that this is a program where administrators outnumber clients. I promised to recommend some if I should think of any.

The Wonder of Womanship

In the end, the bank job was divided among six companies. (There's your 18 percent "utilization rate.") And as with any construction job, if we survived it and even got paid, we considered ourselves geniuses.

So far the principal benefit of my new WOB status is a clutch of complimentary subscriptions to minority- and woman-owned business magazines. Soft-core S&M for the affirmative action set, they feature photos of silver-haired old-boy executives grinning weakly while presenting excellence awards to entrepreneurs who wear their minority-hood and womanship like earned badges of honor.

But WOB isn't just about tangible benefits. It's so much more. I now feel a part of something larger than myself: the great chain of being that tumbles from the well-meaning, through the impractical, to the absurd -- replacing the dismal script of capitalism with a delightfully random set of entitlements and rewards.

Comments

Pingback| 10.28.09 @ 2:38AM

Where Are The Teacher Unions When We Need Them? - EndH1B.com Blog - End H1-B links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…guilty to charges of Medi-Cal fraud. A third laboratory owner, Zubair Younis, 42, of Brooklyn, N.Y., is being sought on a felony warrant." UPI is almost certainly a Minority and “ Woman-Owned” Business Enterprise (I say "almost certainly" because I haven't been able to confirm that UPI is registered in a state as such—and that may be because it is being delisted).…

Pingback| 10.28.09 @ 9:51AM

Louisiana Hiring Filipino Teachers, Firing Americans—Where Are The Teacher Unions Whe links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…after pleading guilty to charges of Medi-Cal fraud. A third laboratory owner, Zubair Younis, 42, of Brooklyn, N.Y., is being sought on a felony warrant.” UPI is almost certainly a Minority and “ Woman-Owned” Business Enterprise (I say “almost certainly” because I haven’t been able to confirm that UPI is registered in a state as such—and that may be because it is being delisted).…

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David Simmons|5.11.11 @ 4:01AM|#

All over the world there are concessions for certain groups of people, grants available, help to be found. It's good to see something being done to create opportunities for people who may otherwise hit that glass ceiling. It's a shame they make it so difficult to join though - 8 months, that's a long time to get a certifictae!

Mandy Allen|5.11.11 @ 4:02AM|#

It's great to see something being done for women that will benefit them in the long run. Too many times it's a case of 'jobs for the boys'. Grab the advantage while you can.

Jeremiah|9.7.11 @ 10:04PM|#

"But WOB isn't just about tangible benefits. It's so much more. I now feel a part of something larger than myself: the great chain of being that tumbles from the well-meaning, through the impractical, to the absurd -- replacing the dismal script of capitalism with a delightfully random set of entitlements and rewards."

I admire how you embrace sexism with such open arms. Women seem to be pretty good at that, as long as it's in their favor. Men, on the other hand, actually naively fought FOR women's rights.