Women's Set-Aside: Wait Till Next Year? The Bush administration is not likely to implement the set-aside program for woman-owned businesses before next year, more than four years after it was signed into law by President Clinton, according to several women’s business advocates. “If they wanted it done, they would, and for some reason there is not a commitment to us,” said Terry Williams, chair of the national procurement initiative of the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce. Two advocates said they had been told the program was not a priority for the Small Business Administration. SBA spokespersons did not reply to requests for comment. Last year, SBA officials said implementation of the program was stalled because lawyers were not sure it would pass legal muster. According to law, the set-aside program will be limited to companies in industries where women are “underrepresented” in federal procurement. SBA officials said their initial study to identify the eligible industries did not prove that women entrepreneurs were victims of illegal discrimination. The lawyers said such proof is required under Supreme Court decisions in affirmative action cases. SBA has since contracted with the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate that study. The Academy’s contract has now been extended until the end of the year, said LeAnn Delaney, a member of the Democratic staff of the House Small Business Committee. She told a teleconference sponsored by the Women’s Chamber that once the Academy completes its evaluation, SBA plans to conduct a new study. The initial study found that woman-owned firms were underrepresented in 66 of the 71 industries surveyed, according to a report by Democratic members of the House Small Business Committee. SBA has not released the study. Williams, of the Women’s Chamber, said the delay shows “an unconscionable lack of support for women-owned businesses.” The set-aside “is not the end-all,” she said. “We believe it is simply one tool to help us get a start. She said more than 1,000 Chamber members have signed online petitions urging the administration to implement the program. She urged members to contact their congressional representatives and demand action. Advocacy does not seem to have worked; nearly two years ago members of Women Impacting Public Policy confronted White House officials on the issue, but got no action. (SAA, 11/1/02) Congress has set a goal of awarding 5% of federal prime contract dollars to woman-owned firms, but the government has never approached the goal. In a press release last spring, SBA said woman-owned businesses’ market share in 2003 increased to 3.2%, from 2.9% in ’02.