SBA Not Living Up to Its Commitment to Women in Business
Back in 2000, Congress set a clear mandate: women-owned businesses should receive at least 5% of all federal contracting dollars. Fast forward to 2007, and that goal still hasn’t been met. In fact, women entrepreneurs continue to face a bureaucratic wall when it comes to fair access to contracts and capital.
The Small Business Administration, an agency designed to support small businesses of all kinds, is falling short of its commitment. And it’s not just my opinion. Leading voices like the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) have been sounding the alarm for years. They’ve consistently urged the SBA and Congress to stop stalling and implement the long-promised contracting set-asides for women-owned businesses in underrepresented industries.
Let’s be honest: women are launching businesses at an unprecedented rate. As of 2007, they own nearly 30% of all U.S. businesses and represent a major force in new startups. Yet, their access to federal opportunities doesn’t reflect this growth.
Worse, the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) contracting program, authorized back in 2000, remained in regulatory limbo until the mid-2000s. Even after years of advocacy, the SBA continued dragging its feet, leaving countless qualified women-owned firms without fair access to government contracts.
If the SBA wants to remain relevant to today’s business landscape, it must do better. It must stop overpromising and underdelivering. The agency needs to listen—not just to Washington insiders, but to real-world business owners and organizations like NAWBO who are advocating for change.
Until then, expect more of us to keep calling them out. Because silence doesn’t build equity—and women-owned businesses deserve better.