A few years ago, our Supplier Diversity Manager Edna Zapata-Fuller was scanning through the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council directory when a small, woman-owned business caught her attention. She reached out to the owner of the Disadvantage Business Enterprise-certified company and invited them to submit a Request for Proposal (RFP) for services we were seeking from potential vendors. The company – Central Printing Group – decided to throw their hat in the ring and eventually won the RFP. They've been working with us ever since.

Central Printing Group President and CEO Jeanine Morgan describes her experience with us: “They've been an irreplaceable partner throughout our tenure as a vendor. We appreciate the continued support of the entire State Fund family, and we sincerely thank you for caring about our business and other small businesses that you work with.”

This kind of collaboration doesn’t happen by accident, and isn’t rare. Because we're tasked with providing fairly priced workers’ compensation insurance to thousands of businesses within the most diverse state in the country, it makes sense that we would value diversity not only within the organization, but also with those we do business with.

The first State Fund Supplier Diversity Report details the economic impact these efforts have had on California businesses and the communities in which they live and work.

What is a supplier diversity program and why is it important?

The Supplier Diversity Program ensures equal opportunities for all California businesses including those owned by minorities, women, LGBTQIA+, veterans, and service-disabled veterans to do business with us.

An initiative that began in 2012 has grown into an award-winning, strategic program that provides opportunities for businesses up and down the state to participate in our competitive bidding and sourcing procedures.

“We put the diversity initiative in place because it’s the right way to conduct business, and I feel blessed to have supportive leaders fully on board with our efforts. I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved so far, but we will continue to strive for more.” – Edna Zapata-Fuller

How does the program impact our communities?

In 2021-2022, we spent $133.5 million with diverse suppliers, many of which are small businesses, and supported 1,308 jobs throughout the state.

Amanda Wang, our VP of Enterprise Procurement said, “We know when we contract with a diverse supplier we are helping to create new jobs and increase the spending within our communities. They contribute to our resilient supply chain, allowing us to be flexible and able to pivot to support our important work on behalf of California’s employers and workers.”

What are we doing to attract diverse suppliers?

Edna, with the help of the Strategic Sourcing team, is responsible for ensuring the program’s success by inviting certified diverse suppliers to participate in competitive bidding and sourcing events. From research and outreach, to organizing the annual Supplier Diversity Summit, the team is committed to making a difference by creating opportunities for everyone. Through networking, and pure tenacity, the team works hard to find and educate diverse businesses to the benefits of certification in one of the four nationally recognized supplier diversity organizations.

And their hard work has paid off. Numerous accolades and recognitions have been awarded to the team since the program began, the latest, being named one of the 2022 Top Bay Area Companies for Supply Chain Inclusion & Equity Supplier Diversity by the San Francisco Business Times and Edna herself being awarded the President’s Award by National Veterans Business Development Council.

Find out more

Find out more about our Supplier Diversity Initiative program. You can also read about the program’s economic and community impact in our Supplier Diversity Program Economic Impact Report.