

According to the most recent Women-Owned Small Business NAICS analysis, “women face a wider variety and greater severity of challenges in starting and growing their businesses than men. Difficulties obtaining government contracts represent one of the largest hurdles faced by women- owned firms.”
The report suggests that women-owned businesses are underrepresented in federal contracting due to several barriers, including:
To help overcome these obstacles and level the playing field, the federal government has created and implemented policies and programs to help women access government contracts. Specifically, the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program (WOSB), one of several certification programs approved by Congress, was designed “to provide greater opportunities for [women-owned] small businesses to compete in the federal marketplace.”
The WOSB program was born in 1994 as part of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act (FASA), which created a 5% government-wide goal of contracting with women-owned small businesses.
Overall, there are two types of certification available to women-owned businesses:
This article will focus on WOSB certification to tell you how to win federal contracts. To help you prepare for the certification process, the Small Business Administration (SBA) provides a helpful checklist.
In the last few years, the SBA has changed the certification process for WOSBs and EDWOSBs, making it “easier for qualified small businesses to participate” in the program.
You can no longer self-certify your business. Instead, companies must go through an approved third-party organization or the SBA website at certify.sba.gov.
To apply for certification, visit the SBA’s certification website and answer eligibility questions. Once deemed eligible, you will be guided to use the SBA to get certified or be given a list of the approved third-party certifiers. They are:
Contact them to learn about their certification processes and any associated costs of getting certified. But the basic process for certification involves completing an application, providing documentation about your business (this varies depending on your legal form of business), and having the certifying organization visit your place of business. You’ll also pay a nonrefundable application fee. Once approved through one of these four TPCs, you will still need to upload your proof of citizenship and TPC-certified documentation to WOSB.Certify.sba.gov before bidding on WOSB set- aside contracts. It’s a complicated process, but certifying organizations provide detailed directions to help you.
To qualify for WOSB certification, your business must:
To qualify as an EDWOSB, your business must:
The application requires some or all of the following information and documentation (depending on your business type and ownership):
Make sure your application and documentation are complete when you turn them in. It typically takes at least three months for your application to be processed, and if anything is missing or inaccurate, you'll delay the process even more.
Businesses must update their certification information annually through the Dynamic Small Business Search database and beta.certify.sba.gov.
The SBA maintains a list of eligible industries and their North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes. Of the 759 eligible industries, 646 are designated for limited competition among all WOSB Program participants, and 113 are eligible for competition among only SBA- certified EDWOSBs.
Newly certified WOSBs or EDWOSBs hoping to do business with government agencies should go to Sam.gov to find contract opportunities.
For more information about marketing to the government, check out these resources.
Once you get certified, it is crucial to stay involved and make the most of your designation. Put official logos on your website to spread the news and use the certificate in all your marketing materials and as part of your email signature.
Get found online and on social media by adding relevant keywords to your website and social media accounts, such as woman-owned, diversity, small business, WOSB, and other search terms that government contractors may use when looking for companies to do business with.
Sign up for the mailing lists of third-party certification organizations. Government agencies often send information about contracting opportunities to these organizations’ lists.
Though getting certified takes time and costs money, most women who have gone through the process will attest that it’s worth it for your small business to gain access to contracts you may never have known about otherwise.
The Glenn W. Bailey Foundation serves Florida, New York, Connecticut and DC area organizations working to help us realize our vision and continue our mission of fostering pathways to success in STEM careers and entrepreneurial opportunities. Our Foundation’s focus also includes solving complex environmental and high-mortality disease research funding issues.
If like many successful women leaders, you’re excited to grow your network, but aren’t sure where to get started, check out these networking resources.
Copyright © 2023 SCORE Association, SCORE.org
Funded, in part, through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.