The Benefits of Buying from Women-Owned Businesses

"Women-owned" can mean two different things to a buyer, and the difference matters. On the federal side, the Small Business Administration (SBA) runs the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contract Program, governed by 13 CFR Part 127. On the corporate side, private-sector supplier-diversity programs typically rely on WBENC certification. A vendor may hold one, both, or neither — so the real benefit comes from sourcing vendors whose status you can actually verify. This guide covers what buyers gain, and how to confirm it.

Why should my company buy from women-owned businesses?

The motivations fall into three buckets: a federal mandate, corporate supplier-diversity targets, and a measurable business case.

It helps meet the federal 5% contracting goal

The federal government's statutory goal is to award at least 5% of all federal contracting dollars to women-owned small businesses each year, set in 15 U.S.C. 644(g). It is a government-wide goal, not a per-contract requirement. In FY2023, WOSBs received $30.9 billion — 4.91% of eligible contract dollars, the highest dollar amount on record but still short of the 5% target (SBA). For agencies and prime contractors with subcontracting plans, sourcing certified WOSBs directly supports that goal.

It satisfies corporate supplier-diversity targets

Beyond government, large corporations track diverse spend against internal D&I commitments, customer requirements, and RFP terms. A WBENC-certified Women's Business Enterprise (WBE) can count as both a Tier 1 supplier (you buy directly) and Tier 2 (a prime or subcontractor uses the WBE on your behalf), making the spend audit-defensible toward those targets (WBENC).

There is a measured business case

Supplier diversity is also a sourcing strategy. Hackett Group research found companies dedicated roughly 7.2% of spend to diverse-owned businesses and planned to raise that average toward ~13% of total spend, with top-quartile organizations targeting ~20% (Hackett Group). The commonly cited drivers are expanded competition and price-performance, innovation, and meeting customer or RFP requirements.

How big is the women-owned vendor pool I can source from?

It is large and growing. Per the U.S. Census Bureau (reference year 2023), women owned 14.2 million U.S. businesses with $2.8 trillion in receipts; of employer firms, 1.4 million (22.9%) were women-owned (Census Bureau). Women-owned employer firms grew from about 1.13 million in 2017 to 1.36 million in 2023.

On the certified-federal slice specifically, the Womyn Owned directory tracks 5,581 SBA-certified WOSB/EDWOSB B2B vendors, of which 1,831 hold the EDWOSB designation. Coverage spans all 50 states plus DC and Puerto Rico, across roughly 18 industry categories, with data sourced from the SBA's Small Business Search and USAspending.gov.

What's the difference between WOSB, EDWOSB, and WBENC certification?

These are distinct credentials for different markets — don't treat them as interchangeable.

• WOSB — SBA federal credential. The firm must be a small business that is at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more women who are U.S. citizens, with women managing day-to-day operations (SBA).
• EDWOSB (Economically Disadvantaged WOSB) — a WOSB that also meets economic-disadvantage tests on the owner: personal net worth under $850,000, three-year average AGI of $400,000 or less, and personal assets of $6.5 million or less (13 CFR 127.203). Every EDWOSB is also a WOSB.
• WBE (WBENC) — the corporate/private-sector supplier-diversity credential, validating 51% women ownership, control, and management through document review and an on-site visit (WBENC). It is recertified annually, versus the SBA's three-year WOSB term.

How do I verify a vendor is genuinely women-owned and not just self-identified?

This is the part buyers most often get wrong. Self-certification as a WOSB ended October 15, 2020 — a vendor's self-attestation is no longer valid for federal set-asides (SBA, May 2020 final rule). Firms must be formally certified at no cost through SBA's MySBA Certifications portal or an SBA-approved third-party certifier.

1. For federal set-asides: confirm the certification flag in SAM.gov and the firm's SBA Small Business Search profile before award — contracting officers are required to verify status this way under FAR Subpart 19.15, not the vendor's word.
2. For corporate diverse-spend: validate the certificate number, certifying body, entity name, and expiration date against the issuing registry (e.g., WBENC). Certifications expire, so check the date.
3. Distinguish 'self-identified' from 'certified.' Treat them as different tiers, and record a last-verified date so a lapsed certificate isn't reported as current.

This is exactly why a directory sourced from the SBA registry and USAspending is useful: it lets you start from vendors whose certification and federal-contract history are already traceable to public records, rather than chasing claims one RFP at a time.

Where can I find certified women-owned vendors by industry and state?

Sourcing is easiest when you can filter by both what you need and where. The directory's deepest coverage by vendor count is Virginia (520), California (494), Texas (489), Florida (472), Georgia (400), and Maryland (357). Browse by category to match a need, or by state to keep work regional and reduce logistics overhead.