Women's Contracting Program Stuck in Neutral
By Robert Brodsky
It's been nearly a decade since Congress enacted the women's contracting program through the Small Business Reauthorization Act of 2000. But the Small Business Administration has yet to implement the program and its long-awaited regulations.
On Tuesday, Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, sent a letter to SBA Administrator Karen Mills urging her to finally kick the program into high gear and to set a timetable for implementing the program prior to Oct. 31, which marks the end of National Women's Small Business Month.
"I repeatedly expressed my frustration to the previous administration for dragging its feet in developing women contracting regulations," Snowe said in the letter. "I was further outraged when the proposed implementing regulations that were eventually produced - eight years after enactment of the law - did not provide the tools envisioned by Congress and basically thwarted the law's intent. Now, with over nine months having passed in this new Administration, I am deeply concerned that the regulations have yet to be established."
Snowe is also frustrated that the federal government has not met its goal of awarding five percent of Recovery Act contracts to women-owned small businesses. The group is the only socioeconomic category whose small business contracting goal has not been met or exceeded since the Recovery Act's passage.
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I hope GovExec will keep us posted as to how the administration responds to Senator Snowe's letter.
Jeanne Posted Wednesday, October 21, 2009 7:47 AMFYI
Mary Simmons Posted Wednesday, October 21, 2009 8:11 AMI'd like to know what makes "women" a socioeconomic group. Since that's approximately half the world population, then men must be a "socioeconomic group" also. For many years now, women have been the fastest growing segment of the population of successful entrepreneurs. They have done this without the help of yet another government welfare program. When will our senators and representatives stop playing politics, get out of our hair, and let the go-getters of this nation take care of themselves? Olympia Snowe should start trying to find ways to cut the deficit and long-term debt instead of driving this stupid program down the road.
DOD Employee - Navy Posted Wednesday, October 21, 2009 9:19 AMDoD Employee must have missed all the studies/court cases etc showing women not getting paid for the exact same work as men, even in jobs where there is not any physical gender related rationale. Also, that women may be recognized a socioenomic group does not preclude men being a socioneconomic group, further divided by race, education and other sub categories that are studied and discussed. Get over your bias goof.
Ralph Posted Thursday, October 22, 2009 5:22 PMMaybe because woman of my generation were taught in school to take home economics, typing and stenography (1970's.) Remember those were only jobs you needed for awhile until you landed a husband. We were sent the message that our spouse would be taking care of us and our role was to be nuturing and caretaking of others. The message was to not worry about money or finances or yourself. If you are assertive in the business world you are a B..... Look at the statistics in the 1970's woman made 50% of what a man made, these woman today are aging baby boomers who have no pension and retirement so to speak. Today's generation continue to make only 75% to what a man makes. There is not a level playing field out there. We need to encourage woman to stop being caretakers for others and start caring for themselves and mandate we obtain an equal wage for equal work.
Julie Beck Posted Thursday, October 22, 2009 10:17 PM