Diversity and Inclusion as a Competitive Advantage
More than 13 million businesses in the U.S. are owned by women, according to the latest State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, commissioned by American Express. CentraComm has a lot to be proud of, including the fact that we are a female-owned and operated company. And, for the last five (5) years, we’ve been able to say that we’re also a certified Women Business Enterprise (WBE) and Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) certified.
At CentraComm, our Principal Founder and President, Lynn Child, is a female leader in a male-dominated industry not known for diversity and inclusion. Lynn set out to take this challenge head-on by leveraging certification as a business strategy. To do so, she sought certification through the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). The largest certifier of women-owned businesses in the U.S., WBENC is a leading advocate for female entrepreneurs.
According to the WBENC website, their mission is “to fuel economic growth globally by identifying, certifying, and facilitating the development of women-owned businesses”. WBENC and its 14 Regional Partner Organizations (RPOs) like Ohio River Valley Women’s Business Council (WBEC ORV) collaborate to assess and certify women-owned businesses across the U.S. To date, there are over 15,000 certified women-owned businesses – and CentraComm is honored to be one of them.
To be certified as a WBE and be WOSB certified, a company must be at least 51% owned, controlled, operated, and managed by a woman or women. It’s rare to be a small, woman-owned IT solutions provider, and we’re proud to hold both the WBE and WOSB certification to reach new clients and build relationships in the coming year.
As a certified WBE with WOSB certification as well, CentraComm competes on first-tier and second-tier contracts with both private-sector corporations and government entities. Most corporations have goals for doing business with diverse suppliers and are mandated to report dollars spent with diverse suppliers. CentraComm’s WBE certification positions our firm to be a diverse supplier to over 300 corporations committed to providing equal access to procurement opportunities as WBENC corporate members.
At the federal level, the government has a goal of awarding at least 5% of the value of all of its contracts to women-owned companies. The WOSB certification is the primary certification program for women-owned businesses seeking to do business with the federal government and bid on federal contracts. Leveraging WOSB certification, CentraComm is actively pursuing both prime and subcontracting opportunities with government agencies.
At CentraComm, we’ve realized that becoming certified isn’t just good for our business. Certification encourages, nurtures, and supports the growth of women businesses; increases the number of qualified female-led businesses in the marketplace; and furthers economic growth in our local communities.
Connect with us. We would love the opportunity to share why we would be a great supplier diversity partner for your company.