Is the Small Business Administration effective in helping women?

I see they have a special interest section, http://www.sba.gov/financing/special/wom... but do they truely help women succeed in business?

Woman Owned Small Businesses (WOSB) have been a special focus of the SBA. Due to their push, and legislation, federal departments such as the Department of Defense have set asides for WOSB. Furthermore, large prime contractors such as Raytheon, Boeing, etc. are encouraged to contract and subcontract with WOSB, and are given incentives. They also utilize them because many companies have certain subcontracting goals to Small and Disadvantaged Businesses (SDBs).

Thus there are a lot of set asides for WOSB, and contracting and subcontracting opportunities that exist. Furthermore, when a WOSB no longer is just a self-certifying WOSB, and registers for the SDB program, they are entitled to even more benefits, and can enter into programs such as the Mentor-Protege Program, a Program that many different federal departments and agencies posses, such as the DoD, FAA, Treasury, NASA, and SBA itself (though in certain programs they are allowed to enter just as a self-certified WOSB). This enables them to work with prime contractors and form strategic business relations with them and the government.

The opportunites for WOSB are definitely there, and the SBA is doing things to help them.

The overall effectiveness of SBA has been questioned in recent years. In April, their admistrator resigned due to criticisms of the way SBA runs their programs, particularly with the Katrina victims. And its budget is shrinking even more -- the proposed budget cuts roughly $6 billion in discretionary and non-discretionary funding for federal small business programs across all government agencies.

But yes, SBA does have a segment for women entrepreneurs. They offer classes on various aspects of entrepreneurships; help women secure loan financing, and helps with networking.