Proposed rule is designed to help agencies award 5 percent of federal contracting dollars to women-owned small businesses.
The Small Business Administration proposed a procurement set-aside rule that would give women business-owners more opportunities in federal contracting.

The intent of the rule is provide more opportunities for women-owned small businesses to compete for federal contracts, while helping agencies reach the existing statutory goal of awarding 5 percent of federal contracting dollars to WOSBs, SBA said. According to figures, the government exceeded its 5 percent goal in 2002, but otherwise hasn't reached it. The level has usually hovered around 3 percent since 1999, when SBA first started tracking the numbers.

A set-aside rule would reserve some contracts for the businesses, ensuring that those contracts will count toward the goal no matter which competitor wins. SBA’s proposal finds that women are underrepresented in 83 industries in the federal marketplace, according to the agency. Officials used the analysis in a 2007 study commissioned by SBA from the Kauffman-Rand Foundation to determine where women are underrepresented.

“Women-owned small businesses are one of the fastest growing segments of our economy, yet they continue to be underrepresented when it comes to federal contracting,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. Reference article.