Supplier Diversity

The WBENC certification standard is the most relied upon certification of women-owned businesses as a supplier diversity business program. This certification validates that a business is 51 percent owned, controlled, operated, and managed by a woman (or women). WBENC aims to “foster diversity in the world of commerce. Diversity promotes innovation, opens new channels of revenue and creates partnerships which provide opportunities that fuel the economy.”

When a company partners with a WBENC-Certified Women’s Business Enterprise, they gain many benefits, such as:

Tax Incentives

Research conducted by the Hackett Group proves that working with a WBENC-certified business can increase profitability with as much as 130 percent return on investment. The research concluded that procurement organizations that work with a diverse supplier base also had lower overall operating costs and spent 20 percent less on their buying operations [i].

Diversifies Your Suppliers to Provide Multiple Procurement Channels for Goods and Services

When partnering with a WBENC-certified business, you gain access to multiple channels for goods and services which allows you to review the best options for your company’s needs. Increasing your partnerships with WBENC-certified businesses gives you the added benefit of building relationships with suppliers’ alliances.

Innovation and Creativity

A Harvard study [ii] showed that diversity unlocks innovation and drives market growth, so a company’s willingness to work with diverse markets attracts other companies and business opportunities that also support diversity and women-owned business.

Shows Your Company’s Interest in Working in Diverse Markets

According to WBENC [iii], WBENC-certified WBEs are among the fastest growing sector of our U.S. economy.

As of 2018, there are 3 million women-owned businesses in the U.S. Compare that to 1972, when there were only 402,000 women-owned businesses, representing 4.6 percent of all firms.
Women own 4 out of every 10 businesses in the U.S.
Since 2007, the number of women-owned businesses has increased by 58 percent, which is better than businesses overall, which increased by only 12 percent.
Last year, 1,821 net new women-owned businesses were launched every day. Women of color founded 64 percent of those new businesses.

By working with a women-owned business you show your company’s commitment to working in diverse markets and furthering economic growth in local communities.

[i] Top Supplier Diversity Programs Broaden Value Proposition
[ii] How Diversity Can Drive Innovation
[iii] Behind the Numbers: The State of Women-Owned Businesses in 2018