Progress, but not quite there yet on women-owned business contracting

The last time we reviewed President Obama's campaign pledge to implement a women-owned business contracting program, we rated the promise In the Works. A spokeswoman from the U.S. Small Business Administration had told us at the time that the agency was in the midst of releasing the draft version of new regulations that would make it easier for women-owned businesses to compete for federal contracts.

We wanted to find out the latest news on the program. The SBA told us that they began asking for public comment on the proposed regulations in March.

The new regulations identify 83 industries in which women-owned businesses are under-represented or substantially under-represented in the federal contract marketplace. By helping women get more federal contracts, the agency agency hopes to achieve its goal of 5 percent of federal contracting dollars going to women-owned small businesses,  according to a March 2, 2010 press release.

The public comment period ended on May 3, 2010. The SBA received close to 1,000 suggestions, which the agency is now in the process of reviewing, according to Hayley Matz, an SBA spokeswoman. The rule will be officially implemented following a final interagency review scheduled to take place later this year.

We're keeping a close eye on this one, but for now, the promise remains In the Works.