SBA considering changes to increase government contracts to women-owned firms

Since 1994, Congress has struggled to increase the amount of money spent on federal contracts awarded to women. That year, they passed a law requiring at least 5 percent of money spent on contracts to be awarded to women and in 2000, Congress tried again with the Equity in Contracting for Women Act. However, neither gained traction - the closest the government ever came to achieving its goal was in 2008 when spending reached 3.4 percent.

As a result, the Small Business Administration has announced that by the end of the year it hopes to implement a new set of rules to get contracts to women-owned businesses, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The new rules will be available to companies in 83 industries and will guarantee that contracts are awarded to female-owned businesses by restricting male-owned companies from competing, the Times writes.

Gayla Kraetsch Hartsough, president of KH Consulting Group, told the paper that excluding male-owned businesses won’t result in a dearth of highly-qualified firms.

"The women are smart and hungry - they'll figure out how to team up, form partnerships and joint ventures to do it together, and charge a little bit less," Holli Dorr, owner of Hollister Construction, added.

State governments are also doing their part to increase state purchases from women- and minority-owned businesses. According to the Washington Post, Governor Bob McDonnell of Virginia has formed the Governor’s Supplier Diversity Advisory Board to address Virginia’s low investment in minority businesses - in 2003, a study found that less than a half-percent of state money went to these businesses.