Women-owned businesses may soon be getting a bigger break when it comes to federal contracting opportunities, thanks to action taken by the Obama administration after a decade of delay on the issue.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) released a proposed rule last month that would expand federal contracting opportunities for women-owned small businesses (WOSBs). It would focus on reaching under-represented WOSBs while also enforcing the existing statutory goal that 5 percent of all federal contracting dollars go toward WOSBs.
The proposed rule is open for public comment until May 3, 2010. The SBA will then review and respond to comments before submitting revisions for interagency review and issuing a final rule.
"Implementation of a meaningful women's contracting program will help federal agencies meet their contracting goals, and will afford women-owned small businesses a critical tool to increase access to Federal contracts that will allow their companies to grow and thrive and do what they do best, which is to create new jobs," said U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe , R-Maine. "During the comment period that is currently underway, I will be closely scrutinizing the SBA's latest proposed rule to ensure that it maximizes Federal contracting opportunities to women-owned small businesses."
Currently, the federal government has a 5 percent contracting goal for WOSB. To help address the under-representation of women entrepreneurs in the government marketplace, Congress established the Women's Procurement Program in late 2000.
Yet the SBA has been slow to issue rules implementing the contracting goal. Instead it has studied the participation of these businesses across all industries in order to ensure they are being appropriately considered in the marketplace. In fiscal year 2008, WOSBs were awarded 3.4 percent of Federal contracting dollars.
Over the last decade, various draft rules were released for public comment, but it wasn't until the Obama administration drafted a new, comprehensive rule based on the analysis of the prior studies and previously received questions and comments, that further action has been taken to increase opportunities for WOSBs.
The new rule identifies 83 industries—including the building trades, manufacturing and high-technology production-in which WOSBs are under-represented in the federal supply chain and aims to make more opportunities available for WOSBs in these industries.
Angela Giampolo, the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce® (NGLCC)-certified business owner of Giampolo Law Group and Angle Government Solutions , believes that her law firm and consulting firm, which are both in what the SBA considers under-represented industries for WOSBs, will benefit from the SBA's proposed regulation to make formal certification for WOSBs optional.
"Too often, in an attempt to provide benefits to small entities, the government inadvertently makes it exceedingly difficult to attain those benefits," Giampolo said. "Changing the rule to make formal certification optional will provide women-owned small businesses with greater access to federal contracts and thereby bring out the intent of the regulation. I have no doubt that my law firm and consulting firm, along with thousands of other WOSBs, will benefit from these opportunities in the coming years."
"Women-owned small businesses are one of the fastest-growing segments of our economy, yet they continue to be under-represented when it comes to federal contracting," said Karen Mills, SBA administrator. "Across the country, women are leading strong, innovative companies, and we know that securing federal contracts can be the opportunity that helps them take their businesses to the next level, expand their volume and create good-paying jobs. This proposed rule is a step forward in helping ensure greater access for women-owned small businesses in the federal marketplace."
To be eligible for a women-owned, small business-designated federal contract, a company must be at least 51 percent owned, controlled and primarily managed by one or more women, and must be "small" in adherence to the SBA's size standards for its particular industry.
"This is an opportunity to further increase the representation of women business owners—including lesbian business owners—in the federal government's supply chain, and we applaud the Obama administration for its efforts to see this important step through," said Victoria Fulkerson, director of corporate relations and supplier diversity at the NGLCC. "We encourage our certified suppliers that are women-owned to take advantage of the federal government's newest effort to reach out to women entrepreneurs."
Comments on the rule can be posted to www.regulations.gov, or can be mailed to Dean Koppel, assistant director at the SBA's Office of Policy and Research, at 409 3rd St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20416. The reference RIN 3245-AG06 should be used when submitting comments.
