Malaysia Honors Its Best Entrepreneurs

Beyond the Veil| In honoring top women entrepreneurs in Malaysia, organizers speculated that perhaps the country should adopt a system similar to the South African policy of issuing government contracts only to businesses where women are directly involved.

Such policies are a key reason why South Africa earned a top 10 spot in last week’s World Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2009 and were honored in A of C Celebrations.

In fact, we could use the South African system in America. Maine’s Senator Olympia Snowe spoke out recently about Washington’s inability to drive even the small 5% of government contracts earmarked for women into women-owned businesses. Washington’s track record is abysmal in supporting women-owned businesses. See Federal Contracting Process Fails Mandated Women-Owned Business Goals for a Decade. Anne