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Data

To ensure consistency across the board, all numbers come from the same data sources the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) uses for its Scorecards unless otherwise noted.

WOSBs’ Piece of the Pie is Shrinking

These numbers come from the SBA Scorecards, although it took some math to illustrate the disparity. The SBA Scorecards round contract dollar values to the nearest hundred million, but the SBA Data Hub shows those same values rounded to the nearest one for better accuracy. All percentages are rounded to the nearest hundredth. (Before we go any further, it's important to note some well-known issues with the SBA Scorecards.

Let's break this down by year:

FY 2019

In FY 2019, there were 72,716 small businesses that won federal prime contracts. Of those, 15,100 were WOSBs, which means 57,616 weren't WOSBs. The total value of small business prime awards was $132,945,592,241, and, of that, WOSBs were awarded $26,018,352,505, then we know small businesses that weren't WOSBs were awarded $106,927,239,736.

If 15,100 WOSBs were awarded a total of $26,018,352,505, and the 57,616 small businesses that weren't WOSBs were awarded $106,927,239,736, then the average WOSB prime contractor was awarded $1,723,070 and the average small business prime contractor that wasn't a WOSB was awarded $1,855,860. ($1,723,070 is 92.84% of $1,855,860.)

FY 2020

In FY 2020, there were 69,496 small businesses that won federal prime contracts. Of those, 14,281 were WOSBs, which means 55,215 weren't WOSBs. If the total value of small business prime awards was $145,716,742,172, and, of that, WOSBs were awarded $27,139,061,629, then we know small businesses that weren't WOSBs were awarded $118,577,680,543.

If 14,281 WOSBs were awarded a total of $27,139,061,629, and the 55,215 small businesses that weren't WOSBs were awarded $118,577,680,543, then the average WOSB prime contractor was awarded $1,900,361 and the average small business prime contractor that wasn't a WOSB was awarded $2,147,563. ($1,900,361 is 88.49% of $2,147,563.)

FY 2021

In FY 2021, there were 65,455 small businesses that won federal prime contracts. Of those, 13,313 were WOSBs, which means 52,142 weren't WOSBs. If the total value of small business prime awards was $154,242,072,286, and, of that, WOSBs were awarded $26,227,188,050, then we know small business prime contractors that weren't WOSBs were awarded $128,014,884,236.

If 13,313 WOSBs were awarded a total of $26,227,188,050, and the 52,142 small businesses that weren't WOSBs were awarded $128,014,884,236, then the average WOSB prime contractor was awarded $1,970,043 and the average small business prime contractor that wasn't a WOSB was awarded $2,455,120. ($1,970,043 is 80.24% of $2,455,120.)

FY 2022

In FY 2022, there were 62,670 small businesses that won federal prime contracts. Of those, 12,987 were WOSBs, which means 49,683 weren't WOSBs. If the total value of small business prime contract awards was $162,881,654,701, and, of that, WOSBs were awarded $28,087,796,415, then we know small business prime contractors that weren't WOSBs were awarded $134,793,858,286.

If 12,987 WOSBs were awarded a total of $28,087,796,415, and the 49,683 small businesses that weren't WOSBs were awarded $134,793,858,286, then the average WOSB prime contractor was awarded $2,162,762 and the average small business prime contractor that wasn't a WOSB was awarded $2,713,078. ($2,162,762 is 79.72% of $2,713,078.)

FY 2023

In FY 2023, there were 61,298 small businesses that won federal prime contracts. Of those, 12,788 were WOSBs, which means 48,510 weren't WOSBs. If the total value of small business prime contract awards was $178,618,627,018, and, of that, WOSBs were awarded $30,918,345,391, then we know small business prime contractors that weren't WOSBs were awarded $147,700,281,627.

If 12,788 WOSBs were awarded a total of $30,918,345,391, and the 48,510 small businesses that weren't WOSBs were awarded $147,700,281,627, then the average WOSB prime contractor was awarded $2,417,762 and the average small business prime contractor that wasn't a WOSB was awarded $3,044,739. ($2,417,762 is 79.41% of $3,044,739.)

The information on the SBA Data Hub and SBA Scorecards was current on the most recent date of access (June 3, 2024).

WOSB Set-Asides Accounted for Only 0.26% of Eligible Federal Contracting Dollars in FY 2023

According to the SBA Data Hub, there were $1,695,661,758 in WOSB set-aside contract dollars in FY 2023. The Data Hub also says that small businesses as a whole received $168,928,186,499 billion, and that the total dollar value of contracts to all awardees (small and other-than-small) was $654,165,499,922.

$1,695,661,758 is 0.26% of $654,165,499,922.

Why is This Happening?

Here are some barriers WOSBs may face in federal contracting.

WOSBs Don't Appear to be Graduating From the Small Business Program

The SBA is for small businesses, so you have to look elsewhere for numbers for mid-to-large women-owned businesses. According data on USASpending.gov, all women-owned businesses received $35.3 billion in FY 2023. Before we go any further, it's worth noting the discrepancies between USA Spending and the SBA Data Hub: USASpending says WOSBs received $27.4 billion in FY 2023, whereas the SBA Data Hub says WOSBs received $30.9 billion. This is one of the issues with the SBA Scorecards and, although the $30.9 billion figure is inflated, it's used throughout this website to keep all stats consistent with the SBA data.

At any rate, if all women-owned businesses were awarded $35.3 billion in FY 2023, and of this total, WOSBs were awarded $30.9 billion (at least according to the SBA Scorecards), then mid-to-large women-owned firms only received $4.4 billion more than WOSBs. This means mid-to-large women-owned firms were awarded roughly 14% of what WOSBs were awarded in FY 2023, which doesn't look like WOSBs are outgrowing the small business program.