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WHAT WE WANT

Economic and Political Fairness for Women

We want fair-minded people, women groups, and small business advocates to lobby Congress and the President to raise from 5% to 15% the amount of federal contract dollars that must go to women-owned small businesses.

We want the definition of a small business for federal purposes to be 100 employees or less, not the 500 to 2,000 that frequently get “small business” contracts.

We want the names of businesses coded as small businesses for federal contract dollars to be made public. And we want annual re-certification for small businesses with existing federal contracts.

Learn How You Can Support These Changes

Take Action

watch and act

Federal contracting is one of the most powerful economic engines in the U.S. — but women are consistently excluded. See why we’re fighting back, and how you can help.

The Reality Today

Facts You Need to Know

1

Men Dominate

Men dominate in politics because they earn and save more than women. Men give more to politicians and therefore have more influence. It’s easier for men to run for office.

Men hold roughly 75% of seats in the House, Senate, State Legislatures, and cabinet positions, almost that many governorships, and 90% of committee chair and party leadership positions.

Women-owned businesses are more frequently denied loans and receive smaller amounts than firms owned by men. And women have fewer opportunities for mentorship and business networks.

2

An Economic
Boom

15% of federal contract dollars going to women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) would raise the amount that’s supposed to go to small businesses in general from 23% to 33%.

That would pump $264 billion dollars into our economy and create 3.3 million jobs (on top of the 2 million jobs that America typically creates) because every 1% increase of contracts to small businesses creates 100,000 new jobs, according to the Senate small business committee Chair in 2010.

3

Women Own Over
14 Million
Businesses

WOSBs generate $2.7 trillion in revenue, employ over 12 million workers, and span all major industries, with increasing representation in finance, insurance, real estate, transportation, and warehousing.

WOSBs sell what the government buys.

4

We Are a Small Business
Nation

99.9% of all businesses in America (most people don’t know this) are small businesses. 98% have less than 100 employees. They employ almost half of the private sector workforce. They create most net new jobs and almost half of GDP.
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The United States government is the world’s largest purchaser of goods and services, projected to spend around $800 billion dollars in 2025.
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Small businesses are supposed to get 23% of those contract dollars, and WOSBs are supposed to get 5%.

5

Unfortunately

WOSBs rarely get the 5%, and big businesses (which are only 1/10^th of 1% of all businesses) routinely get up to 97% of federal contract dollars, including those meant for small businesses, despite the SBA’s claims to the contrary.
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That’s what our 100+ Freedom of Information legal battles against the SBA, the Pentagon, and many others – and many Congressional investigations and SBA Inspector General reports – have found.
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Big businesses routinely get contracts worth billions that were meant for small businesses (due to bad policies, loopholes, fraud and lax oversight by the SBA).

Defending Small Business Rights

Who We Are

Don't Cheat Women is a project of the American Small Business League (ASBL.com), founded in 2004 by Lloyd Chapman to protect the federal programs that assist the nation’s 34.7 million small businesses (including those owned by women, minorities, and service-disabled veterans).

Subscribe to our Substack for news and updates at asbl.substack.com

Please See

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Lloyd Chapman, founder of the American Small Business League, in professional portrait

Lloyd Chapman, Founder of ASBL

Two confident businesswomen standing in office, one in a white suit with arms crossed, the other in a black suit smiling

"...it would be more like David and Goliath. You get to come in there and be the underdog against the big company and against the big government.”

William Alsup

Federal District Court Judge,
discussing one of the ASBL's many successful lawsuits against the Pentagon

"Lloyd Chapman and the America Small Business League deserve recognition for the hard work they have done trying to bring an end to the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants."

Congressman Hank Johnson

“Chapman has been on a one-man crusade to expose abuses through which large companies have won billions of dollars' worth of government contracts that were supposed to go to small business.”

Ilana DeBare

San Francisco Chronicle

“[Small businesses] are being cheated out of their opportunity to provide [billions of dollars’ worth of] goods and services to the American people because large companies … have figured out how to manipulate the system. [And] when people such as Lloyd Chapman … a true champion in this field, try to expose these unsavory practices, they are held up to scorn and ridicule.”

Charles Tiefer

Professor

together we can do this

Economic and political fairness

Raise Awareness

Share the facts. Talk about the disparity. Use your platform to ask why women are still being left behind.

Contact Your Reps

Hold elected officials accountable. Ask them how they’re enforcing the 5% law — and why they’re tolerating failure.

Empower Women

Donate to support outreach, legal efforts, and public pressure. Every dollar helps fight a decades-old imbalance.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Hear It yourself

Don’t Cheat Women
Protect Small Businesses

Lloyd Chapman
with Billy Vidal –
Bay Area Cares, Dec 2024

Join Lloyd Chapman and Billy Vidal as they discuss the fight for fair federal contracting and the challenges women-owned small businesses face in securing their share of government contracts. Learn how policy changes could create economic growth and millions of new jobs.

RFK Jr. Podcast: Corporate Capture
Kills Small Business with Lloyd Chapman, Trailer

Lloyd Chapman was interviewed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. when he was running for president in 2024, and Kennedy said at the end, “When I get into the White House, I’m going to call you up on Day One and we’re going to do all the things that you want to do.”
See the entire interview on YouTube, here.

TALK IS CHEAP

In 2008, Candidate Obama Said …

"I am proud to have the support of the American Small Business League and their grassroots efforts to help protect American small business."

Unfortunately, he rejected the advice of his small business advisory group and didn’t recommend a law to prevent big businesses from getting small business contracts.

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Defending Small Business Rights

The Only Agency That Works for Us

The Small Business Administration (SBA, sba.gov) is the only federal agency whose exclusive mission is to aid, counsel, and protect the interests of small businesses. It should get a much bigger budget and its programs should be greatly expanded.

Unfortunately, the Trump administration has cut its budget and staff and plans to burden it with the $1.7 trillion dollar student loan portfolio, perhaps setting it up to fail.

We recently asked perplexity.ai about the Trump administration’s impact on the SBA

“The Trump administration has proposed and undertaken significant budget cuts to the Small Business Administration (SBA). The FY 2026 budget proposal includes a 33% reduction to the SBA’s budget—a decrease of approximately $287 million compared to the previous year—which would reduce the SBA's discretionary resources to about $700 million.”
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“The proposal specifically calls for the elimination of 15 entrepreneurial development programs, including key support programs such as Women’s Business Centers (WBCs), the SCORE mentoring network, the State Trade Expansion Program (STEP), and Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOCs). These cuts mean the closure of more than 150 WBCs, 250 SCORE chapters, and significant reductions in veteran support resources.”
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“Additionally, the Trump administration announced a 43% reduction in SBA staffing, resulting in the loss of approximately 2,700 positions, and reorganization efforts that further restrict access to technical assistance and capital for entrepreneurs, particularly impacting women, veterans, and minority-owned businesses.”

“The Trump administration’s FY 2026 budget proposal includes a 33% reduction to the SBA’s budget — a decrease of approximately $287 million compared to the previous year.”
“The proposal calls for the elimination of 15 entrepreneurial development programs, including Women’s Business Centers, SCORE, STEP, and Veterans Business Outreach Centers.”
“These cuts mean the closure of more than 150 WBCs, 250 SCORE chapters, and significant reductions in veteran support resources.”
“The Trump administration announced a 43% reduction in SBA staffing, resulting in the loss of approximately 2,700 positions.”

Join the Movement

We are done accepting the silence. Done accepting the scraps. Done waiting for fairness to come by accident.

Let’s fix what’s broken — together.

Together we can get economic and political fairness for women and unleash prosperity for the middle class.

Please see

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Still Have Questions? You Shouldn’t Have To

1. Is there really a legal requirement to give contracts to women-owned businesses?

that Yes. The law says at least 5% of federal prime contracting dollars must go to women-owned small businesses. It’s one of the most ignored mandates in government procurement.

2. Why aren’t more women getting contracts?

Because the system isn’t designed to serve them. It rewards insider networks, keeps selection processes opaque, and faces no penalty when it excludes. It’s not about capacity. It’s about access

3. How can I support the campaign?

Share your story. Spread the word. Donate if you’re able. And speak up — because silence protects inequality.

4. Is this campaign affiliated with a political party?

No. This is a civil rights and economic justice issue. Equity doesn’t need a party label.

5. Where can I see how the legislation is working?

Visit USAspending.gov to view contract awards. We’re also publishing summaries that make the data easier to understand and act on.

6. Why is the current 5% goal not enough?

Because women own nearly half of all businesses. Five percent isn’t equality — it’s the bare minimum. And we’re not even getting that

Who’s Behind This

Who’s Behind This

Lloyd Chapman

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Don’t Cheat Women is a project of the American Small Business League, advocates who’ve spent decades fighting for women-owned small businesses and exposing how federal systems protect the status quo. We’re here to push the issue into the light, build pressure, and demand that the law be more than words on paper.

ASBL.com

Women Are Half the Population
They Own 40% of All Businesses

Economic and Political Fairness for Women

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