Government Spending Up for Women-Owned Small Business Contracts

After nothing but bad news coming from Washington, D.C., this month, there's finally a ray of sunshine for female small business owners. While federal contract spending has decreased overall over the last several years, new research from American Express OPEN revealed that spending on women-owned small business (WOSB) contracts has risen moderately since 2009.

OPEN, American Express' small business arm, found that in fiscal year (FY) 2012, women-owned small businesses (WOSB) accounted for 4 percent of all small business federal contracts, amounting to $16.2 billion. This is up from the $15.7 billion spent on WOSB contracts in FY 2009, when these contracts represented just 3.5 percent of the total. This increase, though modest, is good news for female small business owners who are interested in federal contracting.