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The efficacy of gender-based federal procurement policies in the United States

Barbara Orser (Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)
Allan Riding (Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)
Julie Weeks (Womenable, Empire, Michigan, USA)

International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship

ISSN: 1756-6266

Article publication date: 12 March 2019

Issue publication date: 12 March 2019

447

Abstract

Purpose

Because procurement policies are one of the means of redressing discrimination and economic exclusion, the US Government has targeted 23 per cent of its annual half-trillion dollar spend to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and 5 per cent of its spend to women-owned businesses.

Design/methodology/approach

The research framework is informed by two theoretical paradigms, feminist empiricism and entrepreneurial feminism, and uses a secondary analysis of survey data of active federal contractors.

Findings

Empirical findings inform the extent to which certifications are associated with bid frequency and bid success. The results indicate that none of the various certifications increase either bid frequency or bid success. The findings are consistent with entrepreneurial feminism and call for federal accountability in contracting with women-owned supplier firms.

Research limitations/implications

The findings are consistent with entrepreneurial feminism and call for federal accountability in contracting with women-owned supplier firms.

Practical implications

Recommendations include the need to review the impact of consolidated tenders on designated (as certified) SME vendors and to train procurement personnel about the economic contributions of women-owned businesses.

Originality/value

This research studies the efficacy of various certifications, with particular reference to that of women-owned, on the frequency with which SMEs bid on, and succeed in obtaining, US federal procurement contracts.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Reprinted by permission from Springer. B. Orser, A. riding and J. Weeks (2018). The efficacy of gender-based federal procurement policies in the United States. Small Business Economics. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11187-018-9997-4.

It is with sadness that the authors acknowledge the untimely passing of their co-author Julie Weeks. She was a leading advocate for women’s rights and entrepreneurship. Her leadership roles included Executive Director of the National Women’s Business Council, an agency that advises the US Congress, the administrator of the Small Business Administration and the president of the USA. Most recently, Julie was the President and CEO of Womenable, a firm that allowed her to promote women’s entrepreneurship policy development in the USA, as well as internationally.

Citation

Orser, B., Riding, A. and Weeks, J. (2018), "The efficacy of gender-based federal procurement policies in the United States", International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 6-37. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJGE-02-2019-139

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Springer

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