Numbers Are Up, But Data Shows Need for Women's Procurement Program
1:09 PM September 1, 2010
The SBA has released the FY2009 Small Business Procurement Scorecard, and the results are surprising, and disappointing. The Scorecard is an assessment tool used by the federal government to measure how well federal agencies have reached their small business goals. I'm happy to see that the numbers for women-owned businesses are up from FY 2008, and that the subcontracting goal has been exceeded (5.44%). However, the 23% small business goal fell short at 21.89%, and the number for prime contracts for women-owned small business remains well below the 5% goal (3.68%).
To read WIPP's press release on the Scorecard results, please click here.
Despite the increase in women contractors, the over half of the top six federal agencies suffered decreases in their women-owned numbers for prime contracts, and only two met their self-imposed goals (Department of Homeland Security met its 5% goal, DoE met its 0.71% goal). The following is a breakdown of their numbers.
• Department of Defense (DoD): 3.37%, up from 2.95%
• Department of Energy (DoE): 0.89%, down from 0.97%
• Health and Human Services (HHS): 4.51%, down from 5.55%
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): 2.37%, down from 2.51%
• Department of Veterans: 3.40%, down from 4.02%
• Department of Homeland Security: 7.86%, up from 6.55%
These results indicate the need for the enactment of the Women's Procurement Program. SBA Administrator Karen Mills has spoken openly the implementation of the Women's Procurement Program later this year (click here to read my previous blog post on this announcement). These numbers will surely rise if contracting officers have the ability to restrict competition to only women-owned small businesses. Until this program is enacted, I fear that the federal government will never meet its 5% goal.
Click here to read the full results of the FY2009 Scorecard.
Click here to read Senator Mary L. Landrieu's press release on the Scorecard results.
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