The U.S. Small Business Administration’s announcement of a new rule to boost opportunities for Women Owned Small Businesses (WOSB) turned heads, and now new details about the specifics of the initiative are coming to light.In order to be eligible for the five percent of contracting dollars available, a particular firm must be at least 51 percent owned by one or more women and primarily managed by one or more women who are U.S. Citizens. The firm in question must meet SBA’s size standards for that industry.
The owners must also be able to prove to the SBA that they are “economically disadvantaged,†in accordance with SBA standards.
According to the SBA: “The proposed rule authorizes a set-aside of federal contracts for WOSBs, where the anticipated contract price does not exceed $5 million in the case of manufacturing contracts and $3 million in the case of other contracts. Contracts with values in excess of these limits are not subject to set-aside under this program.â€
Also there is a requirement, set forth in a prior proposed version, that each federal agency certify that it had engaged in discrimination against women-owned small businesses in order for the program to apply to contracting by that agency.
Per the last paragraph above, perhaps I’m reading this wrong, but if not – what agency would freely admit that they had engaged in discrimination against women owned small businesses ?