SBA Seeks Study For Women's Set-Aside SBA issued an RFP Oct. 14 for a study to determine which industries will be eligible for the women’s set-aside program authorized by Congress five years ago, but implementation of the program is still many months away. Proposals are due Nov. 29. SBA says the winning contractor will have six to nine months after the contract is awarded to complete the study. After analyzing the study, the agency will issue proposed rules and receive public comments before the set-aside program is open for business. The RFP was released two weeks after a federal judge in Washington ordered SBA to give him a progress report on the set-aside program. Judge Reggie B. Walton acted after the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce sued the agency for failing to implement the set-aside in a timely manner. (SAA, 10/7) The statement of work for the study generally follows recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on National Statistics. The committee found SBA’s previous study of women in federal contracting to be flawed and called for a new one. (SAA, 3/18) The law requires SBA to determine those industries in which woman-owned businesses are “underrepresented” or “substantially underrepresented” in federal contracting. In underrepresented industries, set-asides will be available to small businesses owned by disadvantaged women; in industries found to be substantially underrepresented, all woman-owned small businesses will be eligible for set-asides. SBA officials have said the agency’s previous study was rejected by the Justice Department because it did not prove discrimination against woman-owned businesses, and therefore might not stand up to a court challenge under Supreme Court decisions on affirmative action. In its report the Committee on National Statistics said proving discrimination would be “a challenging undertaking” that would require long-term research. SBA’s RFP does not address the issue of proving discrimination.