Milestone for women contractors highlights industry challenges

By: Anamika Roy Business Writer March 3, 2016

Small-business owner Gloria Larkin, President of TargetGov, says it’s been a long struggle for women business owners to land their share of contracts.

The federal government reached a milestone this week that brings good news for women in business. For the first time in history, the federal government met its goal of awarding 5 percent of its contract money to women-owned small businesses.

It seems like a small number, but women who have been fighting for more opportunities in the procurement process say this was more than 20 years in the making.

The Women Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program was implemented in February 2011 but the process began with a federal law passed in 1994 that set the 5 percent goal. The contract program was then created in 2000 but was dormant until the Obama administration.

Gloria Larkin has been part of that fight for 22 years. Larkin is president and CEO of TargetGov, a company based in Linthicum Heights that works with businesses that contract with government agencies. Larkin is also on the board of directors at Women Impacting Public Policy, which has advocated for the contracting program.

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