GeekSI
  • Blog
  • Who We Are
  • Get In Touch
  • Blog
  • Who We Are
  • Get In Touch
Back to the site
​​GeekSI

A Tech Blog for the People

Are you looking for an IT blog that speaks to you?
One that cares not only about the tech, but about the people behind the tech, the people the tech is for?
We want to be that blog for you.
We're here to offer reviews of new programs and products, insights into the ever-changing world of IT, and a glimpse into our day-to-day activities.

Getting a High-Heeled Leg Up: How the Federal Government Can Encourage Women-Owned Businesses

3/3/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Wonder Woman has often been referenced as a champion for female equality, especially in the workforce.
In our last blog, we explored ways to get young women more interested in STEM by increasing the representation of women in STEM-related careers in popular culture. While this is a great first step, it isn’t enough. We also need our government to help encourage the hiring and promoting of women professionals and Women-Owned Businesses (WOBs), especially Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSBs). Currently, the federal government has programs in place to help WOSBs; however, they rarely, if ever, meet their goals for contracting WOSBs and there are virtually no repercussions for federal agencies who do not meet these goals.
Picture
On December 31, 2015, the U.S. Department of Commerce created a report for the WOSB Program of the Small Business Administration titled “Utilization of Women-Owned Businesses in Federal Prime Contracting.” The report, over 60 pages in length, details how WOBs and WOSBs are not chosen for government contracts at the same rate as similar non-women-owned businesses. No matter what field the contract may be in, STEM-related or otherwise, WOBs and WOSBs face an uphill battle. In fact, “the odds of winning a contract for Woman-Owned Businesses are estimated to be roughly 21 percent lower relative to the odds of winning contracts by otherwise similar firms that were not identified as WOBs.”

The report goes on to say that “WOBs have statistically significant lower odds of winning contracts” and that “the industries in which WOBs are less likely to win contracts account for about 85 percent of contracts and of dollars obligated,” meaning that WOBs and WOSBs are missing out on 85% of the federal government’s contracts and missing out on a significant amount of money. How can the U.S. government help women, WOBs, and WOSBs overcome these odds? Let’s take a look at a few possible ways to close this gap and give women and their businesses a fighting chance.


​​Make WOSBs a Bigger Priority for Set-Asides:
​The U.S. General Services Administration explains that set-asides are used so that “the federal government establishes formal goals to ensure small businesses get their fair share of work in the federal market.” To accomplish this, “each federal agency must set an annual goal for participation by different types of small businesses.” The initial suggested percent for WOSBs is only 5%, which seems like it should be no big deal; however, only once in the more than 15 years since the 5% set-aside for WOSBs was suggested has that number been reached (during the 2015 fiscal year with 5.06%). In fact, it took until 2013 for federal agencies to reach 4%. The current fiscal year has only reached 4.28%.
Picture
​Create North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes for Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Businesses (EDWOSBs) in Technology:
According to the United States Census Bureau, NAICS codes are “the standard used by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy.” NAICS may be a classification system, but it also helps small businesses have a better chance of being considered for big time jobs. Contracts will specify that the contract has been set aside for companies that are classified with certain codes, including WOBs, WOSBs, and EDWOSBs. The problem is that there are no NAICS codes for EDWOSBs in the technology category, meaning EDWOSBs don’t receive any more special consideration than WOSBs, even though they face even more hardships by being economically disadvantaged in addition to being women-owned.
Picture
Require a Minimum Percentage for the Female Workforce:
​
Geek Sources is a WOSB whose workforce is 64% women and we are incredibly proud of that fact. Unfortunately, as a women-majority IT company, we are basically an unheard-of anomaly. Most companies don’t have a minimum threshold for hiring females, or if they do, it’s minimal. One group that does have a great track record of going above and beyond their required hiring amount for a specific demographic is Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSBs). VOSBs go above and beyond their imposed requirements by employing a higher-than-average percentage of Veterans. However, VOSBs have an advantage because a lot of government contracts in recent years have required that the winning contractor have a minimum percentage of employed Veterans in order to apply for the project, encouraging contractors to team up with VOSBs.
​​
​Deniz Franck, our CEO at Geek Sources, states that “one way we could really see change is for the government to just nudge more business towards WOSBs that specialize in IT/Engineering.” If the government were to have the same or at least similar requirements for employing women as they do for employing Veterans, chances are we would see the number of women employed in IT rise. Franck takes this idea a step further, daring the government and the IT field to step up to the plate: “If they want to add a requirement that the workforce is 50% women, then we won't have any problem matching it.”

Picture
​​If we were to give more WOBs, WOSBs, and EDWOSBs the tools they need to compete for large and small contracts, we would see a rise in both the success of these businesses and the number of women in the workforce, especially in IT and other STEM fields. If women and young girls see that WOBs working in technology fields are getting the resources, recognition, and income they need and deserve, they’ll be more likely to enter the technology workforce themselves.

In a 2016 article from The Washington Post, it states that “a more targeted focus on [females] could triple the number of women working in computing, from 1.2 million today to 3.9 million by 2025.” This would increase their share of jobs in these fields by over 10% in less than 10 years. Technology growth isn’t going anywhere but up and the jobs it creates are only going to increase. ​Already, “employers simply cannot fill [computing] positions that are becoming increasingly critical to their businesses.” If we want the U.S. to contribute to and keep up with expanding technology fields, we have to encourage more women and WOBs and give them the tools they need to succeed. Put bluntly, “U.S. business can’t meet the demands of our digital economy if we do not unlock our pool of female talent.” It would be much easier to unlock this pool of talent if our government and federal agencies provided the necessary keys to do so.
0 Comments

Bringing Female Representation to STEM

1/23/2017

2 Comments

 
Picture
Our CEO, Deniz Franck, programming in 1991.
​Here at Geek Sources, we are proud that we are a Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) and that our CEO, Deniz Franck, has been leading this company for almost twenty years. Being a woman in a STEM career is a unique experience, and one that can often feel isolating. Luckily, more and more women are being encouraged to pursue STEM degrees and careers. But more needs to be done.
In January of 2016, the National Science Board released its biennial Science and Engineering Indicators report. While women have been showing overall progress, albeit slow progress, to being better represented in STEM fields, women still only make up about 29% of the science and engineering workforce. Additionally, as a company working specifically in tech, it is upsetting to learn that less than 11% of computer engineers are women. And it’s not because there aren’t women who are qualified – there are so many women out there with untapped potential who could help us achieve parity.
​
According to the National Girls Collaborative Project’s summary of the report, when it comes to K-12 education, “female students' achievement in mathematics and science is on par with their male peers and female students participate in high level mathematics and science courses at similar rates as their male peers.” In other words, female and male students are equally successful in STEM-related courses in their formative years. So what keeps these female students from pursuing engineering degrees and careers at the same rate as their male peers? Representation. It’s hard to feel like a part of a community when you don’t see or hear about other people like you in that community. Young women need to know that there are women out there studying and working in engineering fields every day.
To help make women in STEM fields more visible, books, movies, TV shows, and news segments need to highlight these women and tell their stories. The new Ghostbusters movie may be a comedy and may focus on paranormal science, but it also shows three female physicists who speak using actual science and engineering terminology and who build the technology to save their city all by themselves. The Oscar-contender Hidden Figures takes a different approach but also tells the story of three female engineers. Based on a true story, the movie follows these women as they help NASA send the first American into space. Even more importantly, all three women are black, meaning not only women, but women of color are seeing someone who looks like them participating in STEM careers and making a difference.
​
Here’s how you can make a difference: Encourage the women in your life to pursue what they’re passionate about, whether it be art, science, literature, or aerobics. And for females who show an interest and an aptitude for STEM fields, give them a little extra push. Show them examples of real and fictional women who have pursued these fields: Ada Lovelace, Katherine Johnson, and Marie Curie; Hermione Granger, Temperance “Bones” Brennan, and Scully. Let them know that both men and women can contribute to and succeed in these fields. Help them crack that glass ceiling little by little, until all that’s left is shards.
2 Comments

    Archives

    September 2019
    July 2018
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016

    Categories

    All
    Advice
    Current Projects
    Government
    Health IT
    MEL
    MSSR
    Multiple Sclerosis
    People
    Pop Culture
    STEM
    Technology
    Users
    Veterans
    Women In Tech

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.