How to empower women-led businesses and make public procurement more inclusive

Insights Report

Public procurement is the government’s largest marketplace and governments engage at all levels of the procurement process. Governments can leverage their roles as “market regulators” via procurement policies and as “market participants” as purchasers of goods, works and services to promote equity and equality. These powers combined have the necessary influence to shift market behavior and stimulate economic activity, towards gender equality goals. 

Gender-responsive procurement is defined as the selection of goods, civil works or services that take into account their impact on gender equality and women’s empowerment. A new research report by the Open Contracting Partnership and Value for Women explores the barriers facing women-led businesses in public procurement and gender-responsive policies that promote empowerment and inclusion. 

This research identified key challenges faced by both governments and women-led businesses as well as innovative practices in the open contracting community.

Further reading:

• Blog post: Breaking the glass ceiling for women-led businesses in public procurement: fairness and inclusion through open contracting
• Full research report
• Gender topic page