The Value of Certifying a Business as Woman-Owned

Stephen Singleteary serves as the principal and president of Legacy Food Solutions. In this role, Stephen Singleteary is responsible for the company's overall vision and serves as the primary negotiator for the company's proposed facility in Chicago. As an experienced entrepreneur, Stephen Singleteary is passionate about raising awareness of the challenges women- and minority-owned businesses face in raising capital for business initiatives.

One way female entrepreneurs can help their businesses stand out in the marketplace is by having them certified as woman-owned. Multiple organizations certify woman-owned businesses, but the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) stands out as the largest certifier in the U.S.

In general, a business qualifies as a woman-owned business when a woman holds the top position at the business and oversees all daily responsibilities. A woman or women must also control at least 51 percent of the business, and the principal owner must be a U.S. citizen.

The application process for certifying a business as woman-owned can be lengthy, sometimes taking as long as a year. The potential benefits of becoming a certified woman-owned business include qualifying for specially-designated government contracts, as well as finding business opportunities through organizations like the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, which provides a list of women-owned businesses to interested companies.

Three Common Types of Workplace Gender Discrimination

An accountant and attorney, Stephen Singleteary has years of experience in the fast-food industry. An accomplished business developer with a history of overseeing companies recognized by Black Enterprise, Stephen Singleteary speaks out against gender discrimination in the workplace. 

This kind of gender discrimination is the unfavorable treatment of a person based on their gender in a work environment. Common forms of this type of gender bias include:

Unequal pay
This is where an employee is paid less than their colleagues of the opposite sex despite working in the same field and having identical experience and expertise.

Positional bias
This is where an employee or job candidate is not given a position due to negative stereotypes about gender roles. This bias plays out when a woman is denied a role as a mechanical engineer, construction worker, or security officer despite her high qualifications, for example, simply because the role is traditionally regarded as a man’s job. 

Sexual harassment
One of the more severe forms of discrimination in the workplace, this takes the form of sexually-obscene comments or requests for sexual favors.

Gender discrimination at work is a federal offense punishable by law under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, and the U.S. Code Title 42, Chapter 21 - Civil Rights.

Women Are Occupying More Company Board Positions

Experienced company executive Stephen Singleteary is a financial and legal advisor based in Miami, Florida. In his advisory work, Stephen Singleteary advocates for gender parity in company board positions.

Women have long been denied equal opportunities in boardroom matters. However, according to a report by executive-search firm Heidrick & Struggles, there has been significant progress toward gender parity. The document states that in 2017, women comprised 38 percent of all newly-appointed directors in Fortune 500 companies.

In another Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report, data gathered by ISS Analytics from the 3,000 largest public companies in the US revealed that, as of June 2018, 31 percent of new directors were women. The WSJ theorizes that a recent shift toward more women was largely motivated by the #MeToo movement.

Still, there is room for more improvement. Women occupied just 18 percent of board positions in the 3,000 companies studied. Only 10 percent of independent directors were women, while only 4 percent of boards had women as chairs. In Fortune 500 companies, 22.2 percent of board seats were held by women in 2017.

There is still a need for gender equity and diversity. Companies perform better with more women on board. An analysis by Harvard’s School of Public Health found that the top 25 percent of companies with the largest ratio of women on their boards had a 42 percent greater return on sales than the bottom three quarters.

Study Reveals Most Popular Fast Food Franchises among Entrepreneurs

An entrepreneur, Stephen Singleteary has years of experience in the fast food industry. Previously the president of Diversity Foods Processing, LLC, and one of the largest suppliers of hamburger patties to Burger King, Stephen Singleteary knows the fast food franchising market well.

National Fast Food Day was Nov. 16. Just before the noted day, research was commissioned by Bid-on-Equipment to determine the top fast food franchises aspiring entrepreneurs were considering opening in each state. The research was based on the volume of related Google searches. 

According to the research, the most popular fast food franchises entrepreneurs wanted to establish were Chick-fil-A, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Subway. Looking at the data on a state-by-state basis, Chick-fil-A was the most popular franchise in 13 states including Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, and Virginia. Dunkin’ Donuts was ahead in six states including Illinois, New York, and Delaware, while Subway was the most popular in two states, New Mexico and Minnesota. Other popular food franchises were KFC, Little Caesars, and Jimmy John’s.