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SBA Messes With the Wrong Gender

Posted by Gayle Kesten Wednesday, Jan 30, 2008, 11:32 AM ET

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Last month the Small Business Administration announced a proposal to set aside 5 percent of government contracts for women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) in a paltry four industries it deemed they were underrepresented. That’s less than 3 percent of the total number of industries that offer federal contracts.

I just threw my calculator against the wall. (No worries, it’s made of some rubbery material.)

There's more. According to Lauren Lawley Head, who’s been covering the topic for the Pittsburgh Business Times: “The SBA proposal doesn’t even call on federal agencies to set aside contracts in those four industries. Instead, it requires them to complete their own discrimination studies and -- here’s where it really gets ridiculous -- an agency can set aside a contract only if it incriminates itself as having discriminated against women applicants in the past.”

Ridiculous is right. Suffice to say, the proposal also doesn’t sit well with WOSBs, which account for about one-third of all small businesses in the United States.

Don’t just sit there and stew. The SBA’s proposal is open for public comment until Feb. 25. Make your thoughts heard.

(Talk about timing: Just as I began posting this, I received an e-mail from the SBA entitled “Myth vs. Fact on Women and Federal Contracting.” It’s not the first one from the SBA defending its position to land in my inbox, either. If you’re interested, send me a message and I’ll be happy to forward it to you. )

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