Attention Women Entrepreneurs: Protect Our 5%

It’s no secret that the Bush administration has disdain for any government program aimed at helping minorities compete in a marketplace. But do you know how close it has come to wrecking the leaps made by women entrepreneurs?

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is a government entity that aims to provide support services, guidance and, in some cases, funding for small businesses with an emphasis on helping minority-owned businesses take root.

Back in 2000 Congress passed Public Law 106-554, which, in a nutshell, mandated that 5% of all federal contracts be awarded to women-owned businesses. Yes, that’s just five percent. But it was a start.

Yet, in a jaw-dropping move, Bush cronies attempted to reduce that number by having the SBA propose a rule, in December 2007, that would have wiped out this assistance for women-owned businesses.

Essentially, the SBA proposal said that to qualify for a government contract, a woman-owned business would have to document “under-representation” within an industry and show direct discrimination by a government agency to attain “protected status”—meaning qualifying for the 5% plan.

As any person actively running a small business knows, time and resources are tight to begin with, let alone the costs involved in having document so-called “under-representation.” It’s easy to predict how the proposed statue would limit the number of government contracts given to women.

All in an effort to reduce the already paltry 5% figure.

Disgusting.

Fortunately the Senate Appropriations Committee halted the implementation of the SBA rule last week.

But that’s how close it came to seeing the light of day.

For the moment, business owners should tip their hat to the following Congressional leaders, listed in alphabetical order: Sam Brownback (R-KS), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Mary Landrieu (D-LA) Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Patty Murray (D-WA). Also, John Kerry (D-MA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) are said to have thrown in their support to block the implementation of the bogus documentation proposal.

But will these leaders continue to support the issues of women’s entrepreneurs? And what happens now that Hillary Clinton will not be president?

It appears the effort to help protect that 5% figure was guided in large part by Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), a bi-partisan group of women in business. The WIPP correctly contended that the proposal would set dangerous new legal precedents that would undermine existing programs for women and minorities.

It is now lobbying for the proposal to be formally withdrawn.

But the final nod will have to come from the next head of the SBA. Currently, the nominee for SBA Administrator is Sandy Baruah.

Ladies, it’s time to speak up to protect our federally mandated 5% and to point that 5% isn’t nearly enough !