Microsoft Reaches Out to Minorities

Microsoft is increasing its visibility to minority communities in the United States by beginning new programs and increasing the promotional buzz around existing programs. Cynics have suggested that these latest attempts to appeal to minorities, particularly African-Americans, are calculated responses to a flurry of racial discrimination suits filed by former employees in the last year. In fact, Microsoft has made consistent efforts to reach out to minority communities in the past, and has a variety of reasons for doing so, not least of which is an enormous untapped market: minority-owned businesses.

Appealing to Minorities

The “Build Your Business” program will run through Oct. 2001 and will consist of 85 free workshops for African-American and Hispanic small business owners in 14 cities. Announced in February, which is designated “Black History Month” in the United States, the workshops will run in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Oakland, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, and Washington, D.C. The workshops will focus on promoting the benefits of using the Internet to conduct commerce.