Prepared by the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities Civil Rights Office
The Alaska DOT&PF conducted a disparity study in 2021 through a contractor who conducted surveys and interviews with a random sample of 565 business owners and representatives of firms having done business with, or attempted to do business with, the DOT&PF. The study indicated that 59.55% of M/W/DBE respondents reported they were “seldom or never” solicited for work when contracts did not have a set DBE utilization goal. Additionally, 6.5% of M/W/DBE respondents said that there was unequal or unfair treatment within the private sector. Another 4.49% of respondents said that they had either experienced or been witness to situations where M/W/DBE firms were only consulted to satisfy DOT&PF contract requirements. The same percentage (4.49%) of respondents also stated that prime contractors had double standards for performance of M/W/DBEs. As study results demonstrated, there are both quantitative and anecdotal reasons to address the issue of disparate or discriminatory conditions in the marketplace. For this reason the 2021 Disparity Study recommended that DOT&PF should continue to consider the use of aspirational subcontractor project goals for selected groups in regions where there is very low DBE subcontractor utilization.