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I had a government customer once. And they had another vendor I met which was "owned" by a woman. But the real operator of the business made no bones about the

I had a government customer once. And they had another vendor I met which was "owned" by a woman. But the real operator of the business made no bones about the fact the the entire thing was setup in his wife's name solely in order to enable contracting with said government agency.

re_todd 13y ago
Yeah, I know a couple that is "owned" by the woman to get government contracts. She basically does light human resources stuff while her husband runs the business.
cfontes 13y ago
I don't live in th US so this is not clear to me. Could you explain why would they do that?
- WalterSear 13y ago
  Affirmative action requirements.
- malyk 13y ago
  The government has certain contract set asides to help various types of companies get contracts. It's basically like affirmative action for contracting (vary broadly speaking). Basically if you have a female/minority/veteran owned company you can sometimes get a leg up in the procurement process. The government also has these things for size of the business and I'm sure many other categories.
- onedev 13y ago
  There are government contracts that are specifically set aside for women and minorities. Only businesses run by these demographics can bid for these contracts.
- dmckeon 13y ago
  Officially, "to help small businesses build their potential to successfully compete in the federal sector" but effectively to promote businesses owned by various populations, either historically disadvantaged (minorities, women) or seen as deserving of promotion (military veterans, disabled veterans). http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/contracting/working-with-government http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/contracting... "The Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contract program authorizes contracting officers to set aside certain federal contracts for eligible women-owned small businesses."
- dredmorbius 13y ago
  MWBE, "meebeeweebee". Minority-owned / woman-owned business. They get preferential terms in many government contracts. http://mwbe.com/cert/certification.htm http://mwbe.com/cert/certification.htm
pbreit 13y ago
I'm sure that kind of stuff never happens in the non-governmental world.
- TelmoMenezes 13y ago
  I guess it depends on what you mean by "that kind of stuff". Overall, in the non-governmental world, if you deviate too much from rational behaviour you go bankrupt.

re_todd 13y ago

Yeah, I know a couple that is "owned" by the woman to get government contracts. She basically does light human resources stuff while her husband runs the business.

cfontes 13y ago

I don't live in th US so this is not clear to me. Could you explain why would they do that?

WalterSear 13y ago
Affirmative action requirements.
malyk 13y ago
The government has certain contract set asides to help various types of companies get contracts. It's basically like affirmative action for contracting (vary broadly speaking). Basically if you have a female/minority/veteran owned company you can sometimes get a leg up in the procurement process. The government also has these things for size of the business and I'm sure many other categories.
onedev 13y ago
There are government contracts that are specifically set aside for women and minorities. Only businesses run by these demographics can bid for these contracts.
dmckeon 13y ago
Officially, "to help small businesses build their potential to successfully compete in the federal sector" but effectively to promote businesses owned by various populations, either historically disadvantaged (minorities, women) or seen as deserving of promotion (military veterans, disabled veterans). http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/contracting/working-with-government http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/contracting... "The Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contract program authorizes contracting officers to set aside certain federal contracts for eligible women-owned small businesses."
dredmorbius 13y ago
MWBE, "meebeeweebee". Minority-owned / woman-owned business. They get preferential terms in many government contracts. http://mwbe.com/cert/certification.htm http://mwbe.com/cert/certification.htm

pbreit 13y ago

I'm sure that kind of stuff never happens in the non-governmental world.

TelmoMenezes 13y ago
I guess it depends on what you mean by "that kind of stuff". Overall, in the non-governmental world, if you deviate too much from rational behaviour you go bankrupt.