from staff
The U.S. Small Business Administration has proposed a new rule aimed at expanding federal contracting opportunities for women-owned small businesses (WOSB).
The proposed rule identifies 83 industries in which WOSBs are underrepresented or substantially underrepresented in the federal contract marketplace. It’s aimed at providing greater opportunities for WOSBs to compete for federal contracts, while achieving the existing statutory goal that 5 percent of federal contracting dollars go to women-owned small businesses.
“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. “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.”
The creation of a rule to increase federal contracting opportunities for WOSBs was authorized by Congress in 2000. Since that time, SBA took a number of steps to study and analyze the market, including looking at participation by women-owned small businesses across all industries.
To be eligible, a firm must be 51 percent owned and controlled by one or more women, and primarily managed by one or more women. The women must be U.S. citizens. The firm must be “small” in its primary industry in accordance with SBA’s size standards for that industry. In order for a WOSB to be deemed “economically disadvantaged,” its owners must demonstrate economic disadvantage in accordance with the requirements set forth in the proposed rule.
Based upon the analysis in a study commissioned by the SBA from the Kauffman-RAND Foundation, the proposed rule identifies 83 industries (identified by “NAICS” codes) in which women-owned small businesses are underrepresented or substantially underrepresented.
The SBA has identified eligible industries based upon the combination of both the “share of contracting dollars” analysis, as well as the “share of number of contracts awarded” analysis used in the RAND study. This differs from an earlier proposed version of the rule which identified only four industries in which women-owned small businesses were underrepresented. The earlier version proposed to identify eligible industries based solely on the “share of contracting dollars” analysis used in the RAND study.
In accordance with the statute, 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.
The proposed rule removes the 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.
The proposed rule also allows women-owned small businesses to self-certify as “WOSBs” or to be certified by third-party certifiers, including government entities and private certification groups.