The Women’s Federal Procurement Program aims to empower women-owned businesses, especially economically-disadvantaged ones. This program, aimed at businesses that are at least 51% owned by one or more women, aims to ensure equality in competition with other businesses of any magnitude. The program is new and has yet to reach its maximum potential. However, this program is already helping women-owned businesses in a couple of advantageous ways, as listed below.
Eligibility
The Women’s Federal Procurement Program aims to abolish discrimination and the lack of representation for women-owned businesses. The program aims to recognize businesses that are owned by women and to implement certain measures that will make these businesses known and eligible as businesses that can compete in their respective fields. There are little to no women when it comes to procurement. The program aims to amend this so that women will be encouraged to go into this field.
Representation
The women’s federal procurement program recognized women’s underrepresentation when it comes to various fields in business. The program changes this by ensuring that a business remains at least 51% owned by women. The program also ensures that concerns regarding a woman’s say in the business is eligible, and are heard by the SBA.
Assistance
The SBA offers assistance to women-owned businesses as much as they offer the same to small businesses, minority-owned businesses and service-disabled veterans. The women’s federal procurement program enables women to register their businesses as women-owned businesses as long as they meet the requirements. Funding, counseling, technical assistance, and training is offered to women who already own or aim to own their own businesses.
Stock options
Stock options are hardly recognized for women, who are mostly represented by their husbands when it comes to stocks. The women’s federal procurement program ensures that women have rights when it comes to equality in their stock options, as well as control over their rightful percentage in a business’s shares.
Further studies
Further research and study is ongoing not only for small and minority owned businesses, but also for women-owned businesses. These studies will further expand the knowledge for the women’s federal procurement program and its clause. These studies focus on the better treatment of women’s businesses. It also focuses on the complete abolishment of discrimination when it comes to women and the businesses they own.
The procurement program is only a step to empowering women who own their own businesses, or own stock in certain businesses. This program will help ensure that the real owners of a business are not judged by their gender. Business ownership eligibility will be judged based on the performance of the owner as opposed to their gender. The program also makes sure that qualifications for business owners apply just as much to women as they do to men. The SBA offers business assistance to any and all types of businesses handled by the minority. The association takes part in ensuring that women have a say in the businesses they own, including stock options and proper representation. Much as the Women’s Federal Procurement Program still needs a lot of work, this is a crucial and important step to equality when it comes to business ownership.
