SBA sent an email to economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses seeking their personal and business tax returns for the last three years.
The Small Business Administration is expanding its scrutiny of socio-economic contracting programs to now include a review of the women-owned small business program.
In an email sent to economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses earlier this week, SBA is giving these firms until June 30 to respond to a survey and provide the agency with “personal and business tax returns for the last three years.”
“Pursuant to 13 C.F.R. § 127.400, SBA is conducting a program examination to verify that your firm continues to meet the requirements of the Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB) program,” wrote the agency’s compliance division within the Office of Government Contracting and Business Development in an email Federal News Network obtained. “Specifically, SBA will be verifying that your firm continues to meet the requirement that the woman or women that own at least 51% of the firm are economically disadvantaged, as set forth in 13 CFR 127.203.”
The audit of women-owned small firms seems to follow a similar approach SBA took with the 8(a) program. SBA asked similar, but more in-depth questions to more than 4,300 8(a) firms last December seeking 13 different types of data, ranging from a list of the company’s employees to bank statements for the last three fiscal years to a copy of all 8(a) contracts, as part of its ongoing audit of the program. That audit led to the suspension of more than 1,100 firms and the eventual termination of 154 8(a) companies.
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SBA continues to try to remake the 8(a) business development program. SBA released a proposed rule Thursday that would change the basis for entry into the program. SBA says “individuals will no longer be considered ‘socially disadvantaged,’ and therefore eligible for the 8(a) program, simply because they are a member of a racial minority group. Likewise, no individual may be barred from the 8(a) program simply because they are white. Instead, all applicants will be required to prove their social disadvantage status by submitting verifiable, fact-based evidence.”
The SBA says these changes would apply only to individually-owned firms as the eligibility standards for entity-owned participants, including businesses owned by Indian tribes, Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs), Native Hawaiian Organizations (NHOs), and Community Development Corporations (CDCs), would not change.
Additionally, the proposed rule does not impact current individually-owned participants in the 8(a) program.
Comments on the proposed rule are due by July 13.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), ranking member of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, said in a statement that SBA’s proposed rule would undermine the program’s mission to provide training, assistance and federal contracting opportunities for businesses that have faced historic discrimination in the United States.
“The SBA’s proposed rule grossly diminishes the history of systemic racial and ethnic discrimination in the United States. Congress created the 8(a) Business Development Program nearly half a century ago to provide entrepreneurs who have faced historic and present-day discrimination with opportunities to partner with the federal government and support to help grow their businesses,” Markey said. “To be clear, the 8(a) program has always been open to anyone that can prove they’ve experienced prejudice or cultural bias, including in education, employment and entrepreneurship. Now, the SBA proposes to define discrimination based on its political whims and allow applicants to self-certify their eligibility. Instead of fighting to right historic wrongs and enable more job creators to grow and thrive, this administration is once again choosing to distort reality to perpetuate its hateful — and harmful — agenda.”
Shane McCall, a partner with the law firm Koprince McCall Pottroff, which represents small business contractors, said SBA removing the “rebuttable presumption” that certain individuals are socially disadvantaged is building on the Ultima decision from 2023.
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“However, the proposed rule includes a big change in standards for social disadvantage that mostly stem from racial quotas from government or private entities,” McCall said. “Examples include ‘unlawful diversity, equity, and inclusion programs or policies; unlawful affirmative action programs or policies; race-based quotas, set-asides, or hiring targets; or, any government or private entity policies or programs that favored some groups over others on the basis of race.’ We also need to know how SBA will apply these rules.”
Both the new women-owned small business audit and the 8(a) proposal are aimed at ensuring contractors are not taking advantage of or being left out of federal programs.
One industry executive said they were surprised to get the email given they had in the last year just renewed their certification and it is good for three more years.
The executive, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution, said the email elicits more questions than answers, including why SBA is using Survey Monkey for an official examination and whether it’s even a secure platform. The Survey Monkey form asks sensitive questions like how much cash on hand the person has, including how much money is in their savings and checking accounts. Among the survey’s 38 questions, SBA also is asking:
“It makes me wonder how much time and effort has been put into this and makes me question the credibility of whatever results we are provided post-evaluation,” the executive said. “Will the SBA feed my data into an algorithm or artificial intelligence to determine program eligibility? Or will a human evaluate? Are they comparing our new information with the information provided at application? Or is this a separate examination completely?”
An email to SBA seeking comment on the women-owned small business program audit was not returned.
The women-owned small business program has grown significantly over the last decade. After Congress established a 5% goal for agencies in 1994 under the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act, agencies have been building up the industrial base. In fiscal 2023, federal data shows 1,410 new WOSB firms entered the federal market, up from 1,183 the year before and 1,276 in 2021. The General Services Administration hasn’t updated the supplier base dashboard since 2023.
While agencies didn’t meet the 5% governmentwide goal between 2020 and 2024, the dollars going to these firms increased too. Agencies awarded a record $31.7 billion to WOSBs in fiscal 2024 up from $27.1 billion in 2020, according to SBA’s procurement scorecard from June 2025.
So far in 2026, Leadership Connect has found contracting with economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses is down.
Read more: Acquisition Policy
Agencies have made 17 awards and obligated $2.3 million during the first eight months of fiscal 2026. During the same periods in 2024 and 2025, agencies awarded EDWOSBs 35 contracts worth $8.7 million and 29 contracts worth $4.7 million, respectively.
Overall, Leadership Connect found all women-owned small businesses have received $61.7 million in contracts since October.
This growth led to concerns about abuse and SBA changed the certification rules in 2020 to require firms to either use the SBA’s online certification platform or apply through one of the third-party certifying organizations. The agency established that every women-owned small firm must be recertified every three years.
In this audit, SBA says there are two possible outcomes:
SBA also says economically disadvantaged WOSBs could just “voluntarily withdraw” from the program ahead of the audit.
“While I’ve seen nothing official, it appears that SBA is auditing the economic disadvantage for all EDWOSB participants. This means those companies will have to provide backup documentation showing they meet the EDWOSB economic disadvantage requirements. Those rules are basically the same as the 8(a) economic rules. So, this could represent a shift towards more scrutiny on the EDWOSB program, similar to the 8(a) program,” McCall said.
SBA’s audit of economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses comes as two lawmakers are seeking to end the WOSB program altogether. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) introduced the Ending Discrimination in Government Contracting Act in April to eliminate contracting preferences for businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals and women.
Neither bill has moved out their respective committees.
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Jason Miller is executive editor of Federal News Network and directs news coverage on the people, policy and programs of the federal government.
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