Diverse Directions/Minority, Women-Owned Contractors Flourish throughout Southwest

摘要

The fast-growing Southwest is becoming more ethnically and culturally diverse, prompting many owners, developers and public agencies to look toward minority and women-owned businesses to meet their contracting needs. MGM MIRAGE, for instance, now mandates that a minimum portion of all of its contract work goes to Hispanic, African-American, Asian-American, American Indian and women-owned businesses. In 2006, roughly 56.2 percent of the company's 70,000 employees were from underrepresented groups, with 32 percent serving as MGM MIRAGE managers and executives. The gaming giant is currently building the 7.6 billion dollars CityCenter on the Las Vegas Strip between the Monte Carlo and Bellagio resorts. The 76-acre, 18.67-million-sq-ft, mixed-use complex is billed as the largest privately financed development in U.S. history.