### Question
What does socially or economically disadvantaged individual mean?


### Answer
**Socially or economically disadvantaged individual** has the following meaning in *15 U.S.C. § 9501*:

> an individual who has been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias (or the ability of whom to compete in the free enterprise system has been impaired due to diminished capital and credit opportunities, as compared to others in the same line of business and competitive market area) because of the identity of the individual as a member of a group, without regard to any individual quality of the individual that is unrelated to that identity

#### Citation:
  - *15 U.S.C. § 9501*
  - Heading: **CHAPTER 120-MINORITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT**

