State and local governments spend billions of dollars hiring contractors for goods and services, but most of those contracts go to white-owned businesses, not minority contractors — despite decades of affirmative action and other policies meant to make up for disparities.

A federal study released by the Minority Business Development Agency in early 2017 found the needle has barely moved on boosting minority business participation in public contracts.

Albert Shen, the former deputy chief of minority business development under President Obama, believes one reason is that government procurement officials just hire who they know.

Disparities In Government Contracting Hurt Minority-Owned Businesses

Image credit: Chris Burrell/WGBH