It has been clear for at least 50 years the disadvantages that small businesses face in competing for U.S. government contracts. The Small Business Act of 1953 created the Small Business Administration (SBA), an independent agency in the executive branch that counsels and assists specific types of small businesses including firms owned by minorities and other socially and economically disadvantaged individuals and firms owned by women. Women-owned small businesses, however, are underrepresented or substantially underrepresented in some industries. In 2002, the SBA Office of Federal Contract Assistance for Women Business Owners (CAWBO) organized a draft study containing a preliminary set of approximations of the representation of women-owned small businesses in federal prime contracts over $25,000 by industry. Because of the past legal challenges to race- and gender-conscious contracting programs at the federal and local levels, the SBA asked the Committee on National Statistics of the National Academies to conduct an independent review of relevant data and estimation methods prior to finalizing the CAWBO study. The Steering Committee on Women-Owned Small Businesses in Federal Contracting was created and charged with holding a workshop to discuss topics including the accuracy of data and methods to estimate the use of women-owned small businesses in federal contracting and the definition of "underrepresentation" and "substantial underrepresentation" in designating industries for which preferential contracting programs might be warranted. Analyzing Information on Women-Owned Small Businesses in Federal Contracting presents the committee's report as well as the recommendations that committees have made.

Computations of disparity ratios measuring the underrepresentation of women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) in federal contracting, relative to the prevalence of similar firms in certain industries. Depending on the measure used, underrepresentation of WOSBs in federal contracting occurs in from 0 to 87 percent of industries. The report highlights industries where disparities occur and discusses how their identification varies depending on the methodology used and on data limitations.

Women-owned small bus. (WOSB) were receiving contracts for only 2% -- less than 1/2 of the 5% governmentwide goal -- of the almost $200 billion in goods and services that the federal gov't. (FG) purchases each year. This is a review of the progress the FG has made to increase its contracting with WOSBs and identifies measures that could improve the FG's performance in contracting with WOSBs. This report provides info. on: trends in Fed. contracting (FC) with WOSBs since FY1996; obstacles that FC officials perceive to contracting with WOSBs; suggestions to help increase FC with WOSBs; and concerns of these officials about the WOSB contracting goals established for agencies.