GENDER-RESPONSIVEPROCUREMENT
Guidance Note | Principle 5

THE ISSUE
The global procurement market is worth trillions of dollars
and involves both large and small organizations, fromgovernments to small companies, which engage with eachother through the exchange of goods and services.
Due to structural inequalities and discrimination, women
entrepreneurs from a variety of backgrounds – race, class,sexual orientation, ability, education, etc. – access less capitaland fewer resources than their male counterparts in thesecomplex value chains.
Women are therefore disproportionately represented at thelowest tiers of the supply chain (see Box 2 below),carrying out lower-skilled, lower-paid jobs and operatingsmaller businesses.1 In the garment sector, for example,
more than three quarters of workers globally are women
and, in some countries, represent up to 90 per cent of theworkforce. 2 However, management and supervisory
positions remain male-dominated – underpinning genderbased discrimination and violence in the workplace.
This discrimination takes many forms, covered by Women’s
Empowerment Principle 2 (WEP2) on hiring, firing,
pay and benefits, job assignments and promotions; WEP3,
on occupational health and safety, particularly in the case of
pregnant workers; and WEP4, on education and training.

WEPs Guidance Note: Gender-responsive procurement

Women hold only five per cent of the top-level supply chain
positions in Fortune 500 companies.3 A 2019 study foundthat, in the US and western Europe, where procurement
organizations are the most advanced, 20 per cent of the top
60 listed companies have a woman as chief procurement
officer (CPO).4 In France, more than 30 women were
promoted to the role of CPO over a period of 18 months,
representing an increase of more than 30 per centcompared to 2015.5

Box. 1

WEPs Tool Kit

This guidance note forms part of a toolkit to help companies
implement the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs).
Focusing on the WEP5 on implementing supply chain andmarketing practices that empower women, the guidance note
specifically aims to support WEPs signatories in prioritizing,
establishing and implementing gender-responsive and ethical procurement practices without compromising quality,
efficiency, cost savings and value for money. It builds on the
UN Women Corporate Guide to Gender-Responsive Procurement of 2017.6
The guidance note offers concrete strategies for companies
on how to systematically source their goods and services
from other enterprises that align with the WEPs. While theguidance note is aimed at all business leaders who havesigned the WEPs, it may be particularly relevant for supply
chain and purchasing departments.

1

For women-owned businesses, this has resulted in accessing
less than one per cent of procurement spend by large
corporations7 – translating into a loss of opportunities worth
hundreds of billions of dollars for women, businesses andeconomies. Similarly, while some governments are using
public procurement – estimated at US$13 trillion8 annually –to promote socio-economic objectives, few are doing so tohelp advance the growth of highly qualified women-owned
businesses. Yet, procurement can be a powerful strategic
lever to accelerate gender equality in the marketplace.
To effectively tackle this, companies adopt gender-responsive
procurement and other policies fostering responsible
business practices. These efforts can play a strong role inempowering women and addressing gender inequalities,
discrimination and abuse against women in the workplaceand marketplace.

Box. 2Tiers of suppliers

Activities that move materials into the company (Company X)
are called upstream; and those that move materials outwards
are called downstream. Upstream activities are divided into
tiers of suppliers. A supplier that sends materials directly toCompany X is called a first tier supplier, while a supplier that
send materials to a first tier supplier is a second tier supplier;
one that sends materials to second tier supplier is a third tiersupplier, and so on back to the original sources of materials.9

3rd tier supplier

2nd tier supplier

1st tier supplier

COMPANY X

GENDER-RESPONSIVE PROCUREMENT
Gender-responsive procurement is the sustainable selectionof services, goods or civil works that considers the impact
on gender equality and women’s empowerment. It is founded
on international standards, agreements and principles
relevant to improving gender-responsive working conditions
and essential for upholding women’s basic rights in the
supply chain (see Box 3 below). A solid organizational codeof conduct for its supply chain is the bedrock for WEPs
implementation.
Gender-responsive procurement is when companies
leverage their purchasing policies and practices to promote
gender equality and encourage suppliers to improve theirperformance on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Diversifying the supplier base by increasing sourcing fromgender-responsive companies and women-owned
businesses is crucial.

Those involved in gender-responsive procurement consider
the impact on gender equality and seek to enable women
workers and women’s businesses to benefit from business
opportunities. They also take into account the gender power
relations embedded in value chains and market transactions
when sustainably selecting services, goods or works.
The WEPs help bring together all parts of an organization toadvance gender equality and women’s empowerment.
When WEPs signatories purchase from other WEPs
signatories and from women-owned businesses, they enhancetheir supplier diversity but also contribute to reducing
systemic discrimination. This can also enhance the suppliers’
opportunities to grow, and gain exposure to businessnetworks, high-value market opportunities and sustainable
revenue streams.

2

Box. 3

International standards, agreements and principles related to gender equality

Human Rights• The Universal Declaration on Human Rights – 1948.10• United Nations Human Rights Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) – 1979.11• United Nations Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights – 2011.12
Gender Equality• Declaration of the Elimination of Violence against Women – 1993.13• United Nations Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – 1995.14• WEPs – 2010.15• Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG5.16• UNECE Declaration for “Gender-Responsive Standards and Standards Development – 2019.17• Gender Lens to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights – 2019.18• OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct.19
Labour• ILO C111 - Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention – 1958. 20• ILO C100 - Equal Remuneration Convention – 1951. 21• ILO C156 - Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention – 1981. 22• ILO R165 - Workers with Family Responsibilities Recommendation – 1981. 23• ILO C183 - Maternity Protection Convention – 2000. 24• ILO C190 - Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019. 25

THE BUSINESS CASE
Pursuing gender-responsive procurement within a company has many valuable benefits. This guidance note covers
three key ones.
Value-based culture: WEPs signatories consider thatgender equality is good for business and embed this acrosstheir organizations. Aligning WEPs to purchasing practices,even seemingly minor ones may, in fact, have a domino
effect in the value chain, and all potential ramifications forthe supply chain need therefore to be taken into account.
New market opportunities and lower risks: Fostering supplier
diversity and inclusion promotes innovation through new
products, services and solutions; spurs competition on bothprice and service levels between a company’s existing and

WEPs Guidance Note: Gender-responsive procurement

potential vendors; and enhances market penetration andaccess to new markets. Supplier diversity may also becomea source of a company’s competitive advantage; locking
oneself with the same suppliers can be a risky endeavor.
Companies can mitigate business risk by diversifying their
supplier base to include women-owned businesses andthose with similar values. 26 Women suppliers have a uniqueunderstanding of the women’s market and this, plus theirexperience selling to other women, can benefit corporations
in both the near and long term.

3

A diverse supplier base also enables a company to procuresmall orders, specialized products or critical services more
quickly; and to capitalize on new opportunities for businessexpansion with the development of new consumer needs. 27
Companies are increasingly diversifying their supply chains,recognizing that their suppliers are likely to turn into theircustomers. Institutional investors are also increasingly
exercising their voting rights against corporations that do
not uphold the highest ESG standards associated with“stakeholder value”, such as gender parity on boards.
Brand reputation and customer loyalty: Companies withdiverse and inclusive supply chain policies and practices
boost their brand image and reputation.
Fostering gender equality in the supply chain also improvescommunity relations, maximizes the potential benefits of thiswith community engagement programmes, and increases
the reputational gains.
A Nielsen survey revealed that 66 per cent of global
respondents, both women and men, said they were preparedto pay a premium for products and services from companies
that are committed to positive social and environmental

impact. 28 The 2016 ITUC Frontlines Poll found that 82 percent of people hold companies accountable for the actionsof their subcontractors. 29
Consumers are also increasingly requesting information fromcompanies regarding their corporate commitment to diversity,
inclusion and gender equality in supply chains,30 andinvestors are attracted by the transparency of gender equality
practices. Yet, fewer than 10 per cent of companies publicly
disclose information about how they promote genderequality in their chains.31
When women are aware that a company is committed togender equality and supports women-owned businesses,
78 per cent will try the company’s products or services;
80 per cent will show increased brand loyalty; and 50 per
cent will give the company a second chance if the productor service falls short of initial expectations.32 Suppliers also
often become consumers of the products produced by thecompanies they supply. Businesses engaging in genderresponsive procurement can leverage this in refining theirbusiness model by reflecting it in their customer value
proposition, in their sales and marketing strategies and intheir external communication efforts.

WHAT CAN COMPANIES DO?
Transforming a company’s procurement process needs tobe consistently carried out. A good way to start is through aseries of pilots to learn what works and what doesn’t,
and that can inform scalable practices. In doing so, people,
policy, practice, communication, knowledge and stakeholder
management are important factors that need to beconsidered within an enterprise and across departments.

PEOPLE
Gender diversity and women’s leadership in procurement
departments is critical given that they manage, on average,
64 per cent of a company’s total enterprise spend33 and that
increased diversity is likely to translate into more inclusive
procurement. Companies can therefore:•

Proactively recruit women for procurement roles andprovide training to strengthen the female talent pooland women’s leadership in this area.

•

Appoint women to managerial and executive
procurement positions.

Commitment from top-level management is critical,
for example by:•

Including gender-responsive procurement functions andresponsibilities in job descriptions of purchasing roles,
starting with the CPO. See Box 4.

•

Making managers at all levels accountable for success inthis area by embedding key performance indicators on
gender equality in performance plans and assessments,from top executives, staff as well as suppliers, contractors
and vendors.

4

POLICY
Commitment from top-level management is also critical in
making gender-responsive procurement a central elementof a company’s culture and business practices.
Actions could include:•

A gender-sensitive code of conduct and robust due
diligence system, for both the company and its
business partners.

Box. 4•

A baseline study of the company’s supply chain to see
how the desired outcomes relate to the actual number ofwomen-owned businesses and WEPs signatories in the
supply chain (see Box 5 below for sample study questions).

•

An e-procurement platform where data can be stored,
including the baseline data with detailed suppliercharacteristics. Systematizing data collection can help
better understand roadblocks and challenges facedby suppliers.

Sample job description for procurement professionals• Oversee and supervise employees and activities of the purchasing department, including its strategy on gender-sensitive
procurement.
• Prepare plans for purchasing goods and services from gender-responsive companies and women-owned businesses.
• Enforce the company’s procurement policies and procedures to advance gender equality among its suppliers.
• Adopt a gender lens when reviewing, comparing, analyzing and approving products and services to be purchased.
• Manage inventories and maintain accurate purchase and pricing records as well as records of suppliers’ social and genderequality performance.
• Maintain and update supplier information, such as qualifications, delivery times, product ranges, gender equality and overallsocial performance.
• Maintain good supplier relations and negotiate contracts with a gender lens.
• Research and evaluate prospective suppliers that have adopted a gender-sensitive business approach.
• Prepare budgets, cost analyses, social and gender equality performance benchmarks and reports.

•

An implementation strategy with a clear roadmap
outlining the measures needed to meet the objectives,
targets, roles and responsibilities, plus who is accountable
for the results.

•

Allocation of required resources to meet the targets.

•

An effective communication strategy to raise awarenessof relevant stakeholders about the policy and their rights
and responsibilities.

A solid monitoring framework is necessary to underpin
these actions. There should be a standardized collection ofgender statistics and sex disaggregated data based on thebaseline study and the implementation strategy. Its objectives
could include both quantitative indicators linked to
expanding and diversifying the supplier pool, and also
qualitative indicators to understand and address the barriers
preventing some suppliers from accessing and fully
participating in supply chains. Suppliers should be
encouraged to share this information through various
communication channels.

WEPs Guidance Note: Gender-responsive procurement

Risk assessment is key to identifying and assessing any actualor potential social and environmental risk, particularly whereextra vigilance is required on gender-based discrimination.
This relates to a company’s own activities as well as those ofits business partners. Special attention needs to be paid toareas such as hiring, firing, pay and benefits; infrastructure,occupational health and safety (e.g. exposure to chemicals)
where women face specific discrimination and bias (see Box 5).
Attention also needs to be paid to marketing and advertising
practices since many businesses tend to perpetuate genderstereotypes, normalize discriminatory social norms andobjectify and sexualize women’s bodies. In some extreme
forms, businesses play a role in trafficking women for sexual
exploitation, including for the production of pornography.
To better understand these risks, it is helpful to look at certain
factors that could affect a supply chain, and consider where
additional resources would be required to remedy any
gender-based discrimination.

5

Box. 5Baseline study - sample questions

Questions to be asked in this study could include:• How many companies are in your supply chain?
− How many of these companies are WEPs signatories? You will find the list of WEPs signatories here: www.weps.org/companies.
− How many suppliers were screened using gender equality criteria?
− How many of these companies are women-owned enterprises?
− What is the current ratio of women- to men-owned enterprises, and the ratio of WEPs signatories?
• What is the value of the contract with your suppliers?
− How many contracts, on average, do you have annually with each supplier (disaggregated by the gender of the owner ofthe company, and by WEPs signatory status)?
− What is the total/average value of these contracts (disaggregated by the gender of the owner of the company, and by
WEPs signatory status) in absolute dollars and/or as a percentage of total annual procurement spend?
• How gender-responsive are your suppliers?
The gender ratio in the companies could be an indication of their ability to attract and retain women talent, and their efforts
to promote women within the company.
− What is the gender ratio at management level in these companies?
− What is the average gender ratio at worker level in these companies?
− Have they already reported, if so where, on gender equality results?

•

Geographic scope: Researching gender-based bias anddiscrimination, cultural norms, and gender power
dynamics can help identify and understand countryspecific challenges for women.

•

Exceptional crisis: Understanding issues related tomigration and refugee corridors (many of which compriseover 50 per cent women migrants),34 may also help informsourcing practices. Women migrants are particularly
exposed to gender-based discrimination and vulnerability.

•

Production model: Home-based work represents agreat opportunity for women and men to reconcile
family responsibilities with earning an income.
However, it can also be used to perpetrate genderbased discrimination through lower pay and longer hours.

•

Sector-specific factors: Certain sectors, or productionlines, such as the garment and textile industry, havetraditionally relied heavily on a women-based workforce.
However, managers and other company leaders
remain men.

Internal backing
Key to a successful policy is backing from the company’s
executive leadership and departments, particularly from thehuman resources, operations (production, procurement andsourcing), legal and communication departments or teams.
A definition of annual targets to assess the implementationof progress is essential as is communicating it to all staff.
It also requires jointly developed systems and procedures
which should include clear guidelines for the implementationof other WEPs related to recruitment (WEP2), health andsafety (WEP3).

External backing
Equally important is getting backing from a company’sboard members, business partners and other key stakeholders.
Again, communication is key, with the priority here a clear
message to business partners of the company’s commitment
to a gender-responsive procurement policy and to
implementing the necessary measures to achieve this.

6

PRACTICE
Based on the findings of the baseline study, companies will
be able to assess whether there is an imbalance in theopportunities they offer to gender-responsive companies
and women-owned businesses. There are several measures
which can overcome these imbalances.
Classify suppliers and vendors: Categorize suppliers byownership (i.e. women-owned vendors), WEPs status,and other relevant criteria.

Amend supplier selection criteria and apply them topurchasing practices: Award a certain share of contracts
to “preferred firms” – gender-responsive companies andwomen-owned businesses – and communicate openly
about it. Governments and companies which do so establish
targets ranging from 5 to 30 per cent. It is important thatthe goals are measurable and apply across the organization,and that the list of preferred firms are reviewed on a regularbasis to ensure a level-playing field for new and smaller,
yet capable, women-owned businesses.
•

Value the preferred firms – gender-responsive companies
and women-owned businesses – over non-preferredfirms. For instance, for equally compliant bids contracts
are awarded to the preferred firm, e.g. women-owned
businesses and/or gender-responsive companies.

•

Permit preferred firms to pre-qualify for certain groups
or categories of contracts. This practice requires setting
aside certain procurement opportunities, e.g. under acertain value threshold, for competition among womenowned businesses.

•

Introduce subcontracting requirements. For example,
vendors awarded contracts over a certain thresholdwould be required to submit plans for purchasing fromwomen-owned businesses, thereby helping toachieve targets.

•

Give higher scores/value to firms with certain genderspecific criteria. For example, women-owned businesses
and/or gender-responsive companies to pre-qualify forcertain groups or categories of contracts. This practiceentails that the procuring entity sets aside certain
procurement opportunities, e.g. of a certain value
threshold, for competition among women-owned
businesses.35 The procuring entity could also value
suppliers with gender balanced teams and knowledge
about gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Facilitate access to business opportunities: Widely share
information about opportunities to supply goods and services.
This will particularly assist small women business owners
who do not have full access to information about opportunities.
This can be done by:•Standardizing and consolidating the application process.

•Publishing procurement policies, procedures and pointsof contact on the corporate website.

•

Creating a central web portal, or electronic clearing house,through which corporate tenders are published.

•

Publishing gender-responsive procurement results inthe corporate annual report and/or corporate
sustainability report.

•

Partnering with local women’s organizations andcertifying bodies to help identify barriers and solutions.

•Removing capital requirements and limiting contract
sizes, for example, by breaking down requirements(offering one large contract can exclude many small
women-owned businesses which lack the required
scope or depth to compete).

Update payment terms and pay promptly: Offer favourable
payment terms for small businesses and those which are
owned by women, especially if standard payment terms
exceed 30 days. 36 Larger companies are encouraged to pay
suppliers promptly, upon receipt of goods or services,to help small businesses with their cash flow.

WEPs Guidance Note: Gender-responsive procurement

7

KNOW AND GROW YOUR SUPPLIERS

Support your preferred suppliers – gender-responsive
companies and women-owned businesses

To increase the number of suppliers which are genderresponsive companies and women-owned.

•

Consult preferred firms on their experiences, current
barriers or challenges that they face in accessing or fully
participating in your supply chain; and seek theirrecommendations of how to resolve these issues.
Women’s small enterprises may for example be discouraged by unnecessarily cumbersome and lengthy processes.

•

Establish a network of preferred firms (current andfuture suppliers).

•

Leverage your company’s influence, alone or inpartnerships, to advance gender equality andencourage your suppliers to sign and adopt the WEPs
and follow in your footsteps.

•

Consult the WEPs database of companies for partners
with your values.

•

Tell business associations and women’s businessnetworks what products or services you are purchasing,including by organizing ‘meet-the-buyer’ events. In somecountries, such as the US, the Women’s BusinessEnterprise National Council (WBENC) and WEConnect
International (also operational in markets outside the US)
certify businesses owned, controlled and operated by
women. There are similar databases in other countries.

•

Leverage your membership in multi-stakeholder initiatives
and responsible business initiatives to advocate for thecollection of sex disaggregated data and thedevelopment of gender-responsive due diligence tools.

•

Develop your own rosters of gender-responsive
companies and women-owned businesses and invite
them to bid. Ask yourself out-of-the box questions on
where you can find women-owned businesses.

•

Regularly carry out supplier questionnaires to better
understand their offerings, needs and values, such as
gender equality policies and practices.

•−

Organize supplier gatherings to enable networking
and foster an inclusive community of genderresponsive supply chains. Observe the gender ratioof your suppliers in these gatherings – it may be areflection of the gender ratio of employees andleaders in their companies.

−

Build their capacity to engage in your supply chain,such as on your bid process, procedures, payment
terms, how to complete required agreements.
Additionally, when a business does not win a bid,
provide feedback so they can learn from theexperience and address their shortcomings in future
bid opportunities.

•

Facilitate women-owned businesses’ access to capital tofund their first purchase orders by partnering withfinancial institutions. With such support, women will beable to grow their businesses and thus their businesswith your company.

•

Research how your company impacts gender equality inthe market more broadly.

Understand the workforce composition of your suppliers,
i.e. the average gender ratio at both management andworker level over the past two years. This can help in
identifying male-dominated power dynamics that often
underpin gender-based discrimination, violence and abuse.
This can help to decide the level of investment andvigilance towards the most significant business partners.

8

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
Based on the baseline study and risk assessment:•

Monitor and regularly fine-tune the gender-responsive
procurement policy to enable a flexible response tochanges in corporate objectives and growth as well as
new and emerging market conditions. It can also help
better understand the impact of gender-responsive
procurement on criteria such as customer loyalty,
efficiency gains and cost reductions caused by increased
competition among your suppliers.

•

Set specific targets and success indicators to promote
gender equality in your supply chains. By defining specifictargets and related success indicators, companies are ina better position to:−

Communicate gender equality agenda among theirstaff and business partners.

−

Allocate necessary budget and human resources toreach their targets.

−

Communicate their commitment and progress to bothinternal and external stakeholders.

•Continuously research potential risks of gender-based
discrimination in your supply chain and address
emerging issues. Some specific examples of this include
the use of gender-sensitive codes of conduct and social
audits, such as that carried out by amfori BSCI, a humanrights due diligence scheme by amfori, a global businessassociation for open and sustainable trade.

•

Set up a continuous improvement plan, including internal
gender-responsive procurement audits, surveys withinternal and external stakeholders and continuous
communication between your company and yourpreferred firms to optimize the performance of contracts,
payments and delivery of goods and services.

•

Establish effective grievance mechanisms to ensure
relevant stakeholders and suppliers can voice theirconcerns. Aim for gender parity in the composition ofa grievance management team.

WEPs Guidance Note: Gender-responsive procurement

9

ENDNOTES
1

Anna Falth, “Gender equality – the missing link in the
supply chain”, The Procurement Magazine, No.3 (2019).
Available at www.empowerwomen.org/resources

2

International Training Centre, International Labour
Organization (ICTILO), Where do women work in global
supply chains? Available at https://gbv.itcilo.org/index.
php/briefing/show_paragraph/id/40.html (Accessed 8
September 2020).

3

4Kevin O’Marah, “It’s time to put more women at the top of
the supply chain”, Industry Week, (October 2016).
Available at www.industryweek.com/supply-chain/
article/21990819/its-time-to-put-more-women-at-thetop-of-the-supply-chain
Xavier Nouguès and others, Women in procurement,
Gender parity is key to better performance, Oliver Wyman,
2019. Available at www.oliverwyman.com/content/dam/oliver-wyman/v2/publications/2019/feb/Women-inProcurement.pdf

12Office Of The High Commissioner For Human Rights(OHCHR), Implementing the United Nations “protect,respect and remedy” framework (2011). Available atwww.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/GuidingPrinci
plesBusinessHR_EN.pdf, See principles 11–14 forcomprehensive guidance on gender equality.

13

Office Of The High Commissioner For Human Rights(OHCHR), Declaration on the Elimination of Violenceagainst Women (20 December 1993). Available atwww.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/
violenceagainstwomen.aspx

14

UN Women, Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action,
Beijing+5 Political Declaration and Outcome (1995).
Available at https://beijing20.unwomen.org/~/media/
headquarters/attachments/sections/csw/pfa_e_final_web.pdf

15

Women’s Empowerment Principles, available at www.
weps.org

5

Ibid.

16

United Nations, https://sdgs.un.org/goals

6

UN Women, The power of procurement: How to sourcefrom women-owned businesses. Available at www.
unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/
sections/library/publications/2017/the-power-ofprocurement-how-to-source-from-women-ownedbusinesses-en.pdf?la=en&vs=237 (Accessed 8
September 2020).

17

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe,
Declaration for Gender Responsive Standards andStandards Development (2018). Available at www.unece.
org/fileadmin/DAM/trade/wp6/AreasOfWork/Gender
Initiative/UNECEGenderDeclaration_English.pdf

7

8

9

Elizabeth A. Vazquez, and Andrew J. Sherman, Buying for
impact: How to buy from women and change our world.
(Charleston, South Carolina, Advantage Media Group, 2013).
Open Contracting Partnership, How Governments Spend:
Opening Up the Value of Global Public Procurement, 2020.
Available here: https://www.open-contracting.org/
wp-content/uploads/2020/08/OCP2020-Global-PublicProcurement-Spend.pdf
Donald Waters, Operations Strategy, Chapter 13 on
Structure of the Supply Chain.

10 United Nations, Universal Declaration of Human Rights(December 1948), Available at www.un.org/en/
universal-declaration-human-rights/index.html
11

Office Of The High Commissioner For Human Rights(OHCHR), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms ofDiscrimination against Women New York (18 December1979). Available at www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/
Pages/CEDAW.aspx

18

19

Office Of The High Commissioner For Human Rights(OHCHR), Gender lens to the UNGPs, Available at www.
ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Business/Pages/GenderLens.aspx
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD), OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible
Business Conduct. Available at: https://mneguidelines.
oecd.org/OECD-Due-Diligence-Guidance-for-ResponsibleBusiness-Conduct.pdf

20 International Labour Organization (ILO), C111 Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention,
1958 (No. 111). Available at: www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/
en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C111
21

International Labour Organization (ILO), C100 - Equal
Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100). Available at:www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:12100:0::NO::P12
100_ILO_CODE:C100

22 International Labour Organization (ILO), C156 - Workers
with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156).
Available at: www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:12100:
0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C156

23 International Labour Organization (ILO), R165 - Workers
with Family Responsibilities Recommendation, 1981 (No.
165). Available at: www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NO
RMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO:12100:P12100_INSTRUMENT_
ID:312503:NO
24 International Labour Organization (ILO), C183 - Maternity
Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183). Available at:www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:12100:0::NO::P12
100_ILO_CODE:C183
25 International Labour Organization (ILO), C190 - Violenceand Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190). Available at:www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:121
00:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C190
26 Susan Harris Rimmer, Gender-smart Procurement
Policies for Driving Change, (London, Chatham House,
the Royal Institute of International Affairs, December 2017).
Available at: www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/
publications/research/Gender-smart%20Procurement%20-%2020.12.2017.pdf
27 UN Women, The power of procurement.
28 Nielsen, Consumer-goods’ brands that demonstratecommitment to sustainability outperform those that
don’t, (October 2015). Available at: www.nielsen.com/us/
en/press-releases/ 2015/consumer-goods-brands-thatdemonstrate-commitment-to-sustainability-outperform/
29 International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), ILO Supply
Chains Debate a Test for Tackling Poverty, (May 2016).
Available at: www.ituc-csi.org/ilo-supply-chains-debatea-test
30 Femeconomy, Creating Gender Equality throughProcurement Toolkit, (2020). Available at: https://online.
fliphtml5.com/bzrz/lzzs/#p=631

International Finance Corporation (IFC), SheWorks:
Putting Gender-Smart Commitments into Practice at the
Workplace (2016). Available at: www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/
connect/de9a7ee8-940a-450a-bb19-eb452f9fa08e/She
Works+Final+Report.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=lDhiP4z

32 Vazquez, Buying for Impact.
33 CPO Rising. The Art and Science of Procurement, (2016).
Available at: www.cfoinnovation.com/cpo-rising-2016-artand-science-procurement-executive-summary
34 United Nations. Population facts (2017). Available at:www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publica
tions/pdf/popfacts/PopFacts_2017-5.pdf
35 Nouguès, Women in procurement.
36 UN Women, The power of procurement.

10Promoting Economic Empowerment of Women at Work through Responsible Business Conduct in G7 Countries(WE EMPOWER—G7 Programme) is funded by the European Union (EU) and jointly implemented with the International
Labour Organization (ILO). The Programme (2018-2020) will convene stakeholder dialogues in the EU, Canada, Japan andthe US to exchange knowledge, experiences, good practices and lessons learned in the context of the changing world ofwork. Under the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), WE EMPOWER is working to equip companies to go beyond
making commitments on gender equality and women’s empowerment, to strengthening their implementation, datacollection and reporting on the WEPs.

In collaboration with:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
This guidance note was prepared by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women(UN Women) under the WE EMPOWER – G7 programme funded by the European Union and jointly implemented with theInternational Labour Organization. The brief was led by Anna Falth with substantive contributions from Anna Gollub, Jade
Cochran, Inkeri Von Hase, Meral Guzel of UN Women; Eugenie Viatchaninova of FinDev Canada; and Franzis Wimmer of amfori.
DISCLAIMER:
This guidance note was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of
the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union, the United Nations and their member States.
Edit: Proseworks
Design: Oliver Gantner

WEPs Guidance Note: Gender-responsive procurement

11

weps.org@WEPrinciples
empowerwomen.org@Empower_Women

Funded by:

Principle 1

Establish high-level corporate leadershipfor gender equality.

Principle 2

Treat all women and men fairly at work– respect andsupport human rights and nondiscrimination.

Principle 3

Ensure the health, safety and well-being of
all women and men workers.

Principle 4

Promote education, training and professional
development for women.

Principle 5

Implement enterprise development, supply chain
and marketing practices that empower women.

Principle 6

Promote equality through community initiatives
and advocacy.

Principle 7

Measure and publicly report on progressto achieve gender equality.

Produced by:

In support of: