It's becoming more commonly known that supplier diversity and woman-owned business enterprises (WBEs) are essential for economic success. Let’s look at a few numbers to see why.

Millennials. A million think pieces have parsed their buying habits and economic outlook. They’ve been accused of ruining the economy and toppling traditional norms. But is their impact so bad?

As supplier diversity professionals, we focus a lot on the B2B aspect of our work.

Identifying potential diverse suppliers, implementing supplier development initiatives to build a strong, sustainable, diversified supply chain—these are worthy pursuits, but let's not forget the other reason working with diverse suppliers is good for business: the consumer. 

Have you ever been asked the question: Are corporations limiting their supply chain to only diverse suppliers?

If you're reading this, then interacting and engaging with diverse suppliers is probably a part of your job description.

We supplier diversity professionals spend a lot of time talking about, thinking about, and working with minority and underrepresented businesses.

In 2016, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) estimated that America has 28.8 million small businesses—or about 99.7 percent of all businesses in this country. According to census data, nearly a million minority-owned employee firms (businesses with more than one employee) were operating in the U.S. in 2015, the last year this data was collected.