I want to discuss Woman Owned Businesses and how the
government intervenes in this. The questions brought up in class, “Is it fair
that there is a set amount of space set aside for the government to require
certain types of businesses?” or “Should the state give preferential benefits
to a woman for the sole reason that she is a woman?” are so important to
discuss, especially in todays society. The topic of this discussion was, is it
fair, right, wrong, etc. From my opinion, I question what “fair” even means.
History has not been fair and that has created different levels of classes.
This can be related to the caste system in China; those born into the high
class, stay in high class and those born into the low class, stay in low class
and there is no way out. This can also be seen in the book Evicted by how the families in poverty struggled to get out of
poverty. There were not enough job opportunities for them, and if there were,
they didn’t pay enough to make a living. Now, in today’s society, we are
struggling to keep everything “fair” I think this is where those rules and
regulations come in, to put a quota on “woman owned businesses” or other
minority businesses.
One student stated in class, “Our population is made up of
certain percentages of these different groups of people - therefore the
projects/businesses should reflect it” I completely agree with this statement. These
rules are set into place to give everyone a chance, a chance that some people
may not have otherwise had.
To go back to the question being “fair”, I believe
fair is a relative term. If someone worked their whole life to go to school,
start a business, make a living, etc. and someone who is a minority did not put
in the same effort, they are entitled to those same benefits. So is that fair?
But that person of minority may not have had the same upbringing and same
opportunities growing up. So is this fair?