Diverse Business Search Feature Launched on Chamber Website

When I first started at the Chamber, about 9 months ago, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion had already been established as one of the Chamber’s six strategic goals, and it was my job to take the baton and keep running the race.

I’m excited to announce the integration of The Chamber’s recent demographic survey results into the online Member Directory search options. This initiative directly supports the supplier diversity efforts guided by the Chamber DEI Advisory Committee and the prior director Jonathan Long. It answers a need from the Wichita business community for a simple and accessible way to find diversely owned businesses.

Visitors to the directory can search by Minority-owned, Veteran- or Military-Owned and Women-Owned businesses.  As we continue to make strides in the areas of DEI, we want to make sure awareness, community and education for our businesses is of top priority. We encourage you to visit our Member Directory and utilize this new search functionality as you identify potential customers, vendors and partners.

The Chamber follows the Kansas Department of Commerce’s definition of a diverse business, where the business must be at least 51-percent owned and controlled by individual(s) in one or more of the below categories:

• Minority-Owned (Includes LGBTQIA+ business owners)
• Veteran- or Military-Owned
• Women-Owned

The Minority-Owned business category is inclusive of race, ethnicity and other marginalized populations. We have decided to not have a race specific search function as we do not want any of our businesses to be the target for racially motivated discrimination. We also recognize that LGBTQIA+ communities are not a race but are included in the category of minority. As the make-up of our community changes, the definition of minority will be changing as well. We want to be inclusive with supporting all marginalized or underrepresented populations.

Non-profits do not have formal ownership, so they are not included in the Chamber's directory of diverse businesses. We recognize that many of our member organizations are non-profits who exemplify diverse leadership and focus on serving diverse populations. We encourage you to search "Social Advocacy Organizations," "Civic and Social Organizations," and other applicable categories in the directory to learn more about our non-profit members and the communities they serve.

The Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce is committed to promoting the diversity of our membership. We are stronger, wiser, and more profitable together and the Chamber is here to continue connecting our business communities.

Ricki Ellison - Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

 *Diversely owned businesses must opt in to be searchable through our member directory. To identify your business as diversely-owned, click here to fill out a member information update form.