The National Women’s Business Council will hold an online public meeting Dec. 8 from 2-4 p.m. EST to discuss strategies for reaching the government-wide prime-contracting goal of 5 percent for spending with women-owned small business. The meeting will include a panel discussion, updates and highlights on recent efforts and a sneak peak into their not-yet-released annual report.

John Shoraka, associate administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration of government contracting and business development, will explain sole source authority and what it means for women small-business owners and contracting officers.

The panel discussion will follow to discuss strategies including agency outreach, WOSB certification and readiness assessments, streamlining the onerous process, industry matchmaking, or pipeline investments. They will share actionable advice and best practices that women can leverage to successfully navigate the process and win contracts.

The panel will include:

• Erin Andrew, associate administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration and director of the SBA office of women’s business ownership
• Teresa Lewis, director of the Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization for the Department of Health and Human Services
• Rose Wang, founder of The Binary Group and former council member
• Elise Hernandez, CEO and founder of Ideal System Solutions, Inc.

Register for the online event through Eventbrite.