Global Atlanta: Law Overlook Women, Latinos. Lack Of Definition As Minorities Loses Them Business.

The reason: The law's definition of "minority" does not include Latinos or women... Members of the Atlanta Hispanic Chamber of Commerce have met with Gov. Roy Barnes and other officials to urge them to support a change to the law. The Latino Forum, a four-member panel appointed by Barnes last year, also recommended expanding the definition to include Hispanics and women, said Irving Mitchell, Barnes' director of business development... The federal government and most local and state governments that define minorities include Latinos and women along with African-Americans, Asians or Pacific Islanders and Native Americans, said Phillip Klinkner, associate professor of government at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y. He said the definitions are most often used in affirmative action programs.