December 2025 Case Study: Public Procurement as a Lever for SDG 10

December 2025 SDG of the month is SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities, and to close the year, we are highlighting an article by the National League of Cities titled Narrowing the Racial Wealth Divide: Using Procurement to Support Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises. The article offers a clear and compelling example of how procurement reform can help reduce inequality by expanding access to public contracting opportunities for historically excluded businesses.

The racial wealth divide is rooted in long-standing barriers to access, including unequal access to capital, markets, and public contracting opportunities. Traditional procurement systems, while designed to ensure fairness and competition, often fail to account for these structural disadvantages. As a result, seemingly “neutral” procurement processes can unintentionally perpetuate inequality.

The article makes a strong case for equitable procurement, emphasizing that reducing inequality requires intentional policy choices rather than passive compliance with standard procedures.

Key Procurement Strategies That Advance SDG 10

The article outlines several procurement approaches that directly support SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, including:

- Setting participation goals for Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs) to expand access to public contracts

- Unbundling large contracts to allow smaller and historically excluded firms to compete

- Implementing local preference policies that keep public dollars circulating within underserved communities

- Strengthening data collection and tracking to better understand who is accessing public procurement opportunities

- Conducting disparity studies and establishing set-aside programs to inform targeted, evidence-based interventions

Together, these strategies move procurement beyond a transactional function and position it as a tool for economic inclusion and wealth-building.

By embedding equity into procurement policy and practice, governments can use their purchasing power as a lever to reduce structural inequalities and advance the objectives of SDG 10.

Access the article to learn more: https://www.nlc.org/article/2023/10/19/narrowing-the-racial-wealth-divide-using-procurement-to-support-minority-and-women-owned-business-enterprises/