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Few are brave enough to tackle as big an issue as discrimination--or optimistic enough to expect solutions; however, a recent report released by the Simmons College Multicultural Women Business Owners Project ventures to do just that. This giant step for womankind takes on the goal of solving the "whitewash dilemma," or "the dominant white anglo male perspective, which assumes all women are alike," says Lynda Moore, co-director of the project with Bonita Betters-Reed.
"The whitewash dilemma is that most of the advancement for women has been for white women and not for women of color," says Betters-Reed. "We must look at gender through a multicultural lens, which includes class and socioeconomic as well as racial and ethnic issues."
The report is the result of a conference held last May at Simmons College in Boston, in which women leaders, from U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman to Maxwell House president Anne Fudge, discussed ways of enacting change. "The report reflects the way research is done on women's business ownership, the way education and training is conceptualized and delivered, and the way policies are framed," says Moore.
Next on the agenda is a compilation of training and educational materials; more in-depth research on women business owners; and proclamation of the message to a broad-based audience.
Fair Share
According to a recent study, Uncle Sam may not be putting hismoney where his mouth is. Women-owned businesses' share oftotal federal government procurement was reported at a mere 1.5percent in 1996, despite the federal government's goal ofproviding at least 5 percent of contract dollars to entrepreneurialwomen. According to Eagle Eye Publishers Inc., a Vienna,Virginia-based market research organization specializing in thefederal market, only three of the 13 federal agencies that spendthe bulk of federal procurement dollars met the 5 percent goal.
"The good news is that [the overall share] has doubled in10 years; the bad news is it's well under 2 percent," saysEagle Eye president Paul Murphy. "Women-owned businesses aredramatically underrepresented in the federal marketplace, and itdoesn't look like government will come anywhere near meetingits goals for contracting with women in the near future."
Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Commerce, andthe Department of the Interior were top-ranked, providing womenwith $23.7 million (10.2 percent), $45.8 million (5.8 percent), and$42.2 million (5.2 percent), respectively.
Meanwhile, the Department of Defense doled out more than $1.6billion in contracts to women-owned businesses in fiscal 1996.However, that amount represented only 1.3 percent of its totalcontracts.
Whether the results of the study indicate a trend in governmentspending remains to be seen. "The proof of this trend will bein the spending in fiscal 1997," says Murphy, "and thatdata is just starting to appear."
Seal Of Approval
It helps to have friends in high places. That's the wholepoint behind the Women's Business Enterprise National Council(WBENC), a new nonprofit consortium of major corporations andwomen's business organizations formed to provide women with anational standard of certification.
"The goal of the program is to enhance opportunities forwomen to do business with major corporations and governmentbodies," says Susan Bari, executive director of WBENC."We wanted to design an organization that would providewomen's business organizations a new service to offer theirclient base, women business owners an opportunity to increase theirmarketing potential with Fortune 500 companies, and Fortune 500companies the ability to access a database of women's businessenterprises certified [as 51 percent owned, managed and controlledby women] by a process in which they have faith."
This process involves a comprehensive application, which isreviewed by a women's organization affiliated with WBENC andthen verified by an on-site visit. Upon approval, the womanreceives a certificate and has her name and business added to anational database available online to corporate members.
Among WBENC's founders are Wal-Mart Stores, J.C. Penney Co.and Federated Department Stores. "I've been in thenonprofit area and in women's business ownership developmentfor 12 years," says Bari, "and I've never seencorporate support as enthusiastic as I'm seeing from thesecorporations."
Contact Sources
Eagle Eye Publishers Inc., (703) 242-4201
Simmons College Women Business Owners Project, Department ofManagement, 300 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115, (617) 521-2400
Women's Business Enterprise National Council, 1156 15th St.N.W., #1015, Washington, DC 20005, (202) 862-4810.
