Applying a gender impact assessment to a procurement policy

Name of initiative: Procurement Policy

Policy/program/service: Policy

New or up for review: Up for review

Sector: Local government

This case study has been drawn from real examples, however the narrative and place names are fictional.

Overview

The procurement team at the City of Weatherhill is reviewing their internal Procurement Policy. It was originally developed in 2021 with six other metropolitan councils. Even though this specific policy will not have a direct and significant impact on the public, council wants to demonstrate its duty to promote gender equality by conducting a gender impact assessment (GIA). Council knows this will help to improve women’s employment and economic outcomes within the area and is excited for the changes the GIA will bring.

The Commission for Gender Equality in the Public Service (the Commission) website notes that a GIA on a procurement policy is not required “unless you are funding another organisation to deliver a policy, program or service directly to the public.” An example of this would be funding an external organisation to lead a community leadership program. However, council applied an “if not, why not” approach to this policy, and decided to do a GIA as a show of best practice. Lead Policy Officer, Zara, will be putting a team together to complete this GIA.

Conducting a GIA to incorporate gender equality measures into public procurement contracts will ensure the policy meets the needs of women, men and gender-diverse people in the community. With an emphasis on intersectionality, it will also benefit people from communities who face compounding disadvantage and discrimination.

Step 1: Define the issues and challenge assumptions

Completing a gender impact assessment provides the team an opportunity to critically think about the gendered needs of suppliers and receivers of goods and services in the region. The GIA can also help reveal any other barriers to equal participation in the local and regional economy.

Defining the issues

Procurement includes all bought goods and services. This includes both small-scale purchases, such as catering a community lunch, and large-scale purchases, such as large valued public tenders. Procurement also incorporates engaging suppliers, including how council advertises and seeks applications for tender. As part of this review, council wants to ensure it creates fair and viable economic opportunities within the region.

Challenging assumptions

As they begin the GIA, the team don't see obvious gender implications for procurement. They assume any person or business can take part in procurement if they meet the relevant criteria. Brainstorming together, they write down more of their initial assumptions:

Women-led and, or women-staffed businesses should be applying for relevant tenders
There should be no gender disparity in procuring services
All local businesses know about tenders for their services, and are able to apply
Applying through a tender submission portal is simple, and there shouldn’t be any barriers for businesses to apply for relevant tenders

Having identified these assumptions, the team think about how there may be barriers which unintentionally prevent women and gender-diverse people from participating in procurement activities. Applying a gender lens, the team write down the following questions:

What are the gendered differences in employment for large and small businesses in the municipality?
How do the needs of suppliers differ according to gender? For example, applying for tenders, submitting expressions of interest, or registering as a creditor?
How might intersecting factors impact a business’ capacity to apply for tenders, submit expressions of interest (EOIs) or register as a creditor?

Broadening the issues with an intersectional gendered lens

The team consider whether there are businesses owned by women or gender-diverse people who may have additional barriers to participation. Thinking with an intersectional gender lens, the team identify consider:

There may be a gender gap in entrepreneurship which may not be currently known to council
There may be fears of unaddressed biases and implicit sexism or transphobia towards women and gender-diverse people, preventing them from participating
Community members with low English and/or computer literacy may be disadvantaged by the current processes
Those from emerging migrant or refugee communities, young people, and people who need to use screen readers may not know that they can become a creditor and sell their goods and services to council. They may also not have the digital literacy or access to complete the online forms required to become a supplier

The team want to ensure that the procurement policy does not solely advantage people or businesses who have historically held power and resources. Zara and the others recognise that further research and consultation is required to fully understand inequity in procurement and how they can promote gender equality with this policy.

Step 2: Collecting evidence – data, research and consultation

Zara knows that collecting data is integral to challenging these initial assumptions. This will ensure people of different genders aren’t unintentionally excluded from the procurement process.

While the team identified some great areas to think about further, they understand the limitations of their current knowledge. They’re excited to see what they can find out from internal data, desktop research, meaningful stakeholder consultation.

To guide their investigation, they consider:

Who is likely to be affected by the procurement policy?
What is the breakdown of businesses and sole traders within the municipality?
How many businesses and sole traders are accessing council tenders?
What are the lived experiences of diverse groups involved in procurement?
What different barriers may be likely for people of different genders and intersecting experiences?
What are the gendered impacts of the procurement policy for different people?

Gathering a variety of research and evidence enables the team to understand the context of the policy. That is, why people of different genders need to use their policy and interact with council. This will ensure their procurement policy is responsive, effective and inclusive.

Internal data

To get their bearings, the team start with internal information that has already been collected by council. If possible, this will feature gender-disaggregated data.

To start their search, the team will look at:

Previously commissioned research and policy reports across the region
Project and policy evaluation reports
Enquiries and complaints handling data
Survey data
Customer and end-user data, generated by reports from tendering portal

Reviewing the information already available to them provides the team with a greater understanding of initiatives council has undertaken. It helps identify areas where they can promote gender equality and address gender inequality. This gives them a greater understanding of where it would be most beneficial to focus their desktop research and stakeholder engagement.

Data, statistics and desktop research

External data sources about the gendered nature of procurement are integral to conducting a GIA. The team start by looking at the Commission for Gender Equality in the Public Sector’s (the Commission) website, which provides a list of statistics and data sources to assist with their GIA. This research helps the team determine what is relevant to their GIA and policy.

Zara also looks at the different ways that gender equality has been promoted through procurement within the Victorian state government, and other jurisdictions, for ideas. The team view the following publicly available sources:

The team also look at verified websites, open-source journal articles and research papers, and any other services they can access. Conducting this research prompts them to discuss with relevant groups to find more information on the needs of various people in relation to business and employment.

For more information on the importance of desktop research, please see this Victorian Government resource.

Stakeholder consultation

While the team found some excellent information through their research, they recognise that hearing the lived experience of people affected by this policy is essential.

The team’s findings from their current research help them identify several stakeholders to consult, including:

The local community service network, learning network and TAFE
Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health
Women with Disabilities Victoria
LGBTIQ+ groups
Local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community groups and Elders
Community groups for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) people and those of non-English speaking backgrounds

These groups provide valuable insight to the experiences of people of different genders. The team also learn about different ways intersecting factors can compound with gendered experiences to cause further harm and marginalisation.

Evidence collected by the team

- Data related to procurement spent on women-owned businesses is limited (WGEA, 2020)
- Internationally, around 1% of public procurement goes to women-owned businesses, and 35% of all small and medium enterprises are owned by women (UN Women n.d.)
- Some women-led and disability-led organisations have little experience with tender application processes (consultation)
- Computer literacy is a barrier to participation for some groups (consultation)
- Some small business owners are not aware that they can tender for work (consultation)
- Small women-owned businesses are less likely to be members of business groups and share information about business opportunities (consultation)
- The team observe that women owned businesses may be overlooked by council staff calling for EOIs for work. This is because these businesses may not have been used by council before, so they are not the preferred suppliers (consultation)
- There is underemployment of women in the municipality due to “spatial leash”, a concept referring to women’s need to be relatively close to schools and kindergartens. This impacts women more than men due to gender roles related to care-giving (source confidential)
- There is very little evidence of how procurement processes impact gender-diverse people, and they did not find out much from this round of consultation
- The team recognise this is an important community who are being overlooked and flag this area for further research once data becomes available
- The majority of procurement activities are serviced by male-dominated businesses and industries (GWA 2023)
- Older generations of men feel disadvantaged by the technology requirements for submitting bids on portals (consultation)
- Young men entering the workforce for the first time can feel overwhelmed by the procurement process (consultation)
The procurement team reflect on their research. They understand there are many ways in which gender inequality can compound with other forms of inequality to cause further harm. This includes discrimination against the LGBTIQ+ community, older adults, people with disabilities and those from refugee or migrant backgrounds.
- The LGBTIQ+ community often face discrimination within the supply chain due to homophobia, biphobia and transphobia (PIP n.d.)
- Pride merchandise is often sold by suppliers who do not have policies to prevent discrimination for LGBTIQ+ staff (PIP n.d.)
- Research demonstrates that when specific measures are put in place to address discrimination, procurement can be a process that promotes inclusion of businesses and consultants from the LGBTIQ+ community (PIP n.d.)
- Procurement documents and processes contain technical language, and this can be a barrier for people whose first language is not English, which may further marginalise businesses owned by CALD women (consultation)
- The technology requirements of applying on a portal was found to be a barrier for some neurodiverse members of the community, older adults and speakers of languages other than English (consultation)
- GWA (Government of Western Australia) (2023) Gender equality in procurement, Government of Western Australia website, accessed 23 April 2023.
- PIP (Pride Inclusion Programs) (n.d.) Procurement: embedding LGBT procurement in the supply chain, Pride Inclusion Programs, accessed 23 April 2023.
- UN Women (n.d.) Gender-responsive procurement, UN Women, accessed 21 April 2023.
- WGEA (Workplace Gender Equality Agency) (2020) Gender equitable procurement and supply chains, WGEA, accessed 19 April 2023.

Step 3: Evaluate options

After gathering evidence to better understand the context surrounding their policy, the team feel much better equipped to analyse the policy with a gender lens. To consider how their policy will affect people of different genders, the team are comparing their initial policy with policy options that clearly promote and prioritise gender equality.

The first option the team propose is to ensure that the requirements of the Act are mentioned in the Procurement Policy. This will highlight the need for a gender lens to be incorporated when entering procurement agreements, but will not ensure it.
Gendered risks of this option
- Noting the Act’s requirements does not guarantee a gender lens will be applied, so this approach is unlikely to change practice. This approach will likely reinforce systemic gender inequality
- This option doesn’t prepare or train staff for the process of applying a gender lens to procurement agreements, and this is likely to unintentionally reinforce biases which may persist against women and gender-diverse people
- This option does not work to increase community knowledge of the policy, so many women and gender-diverse business owners may not know about procurement opportunities
Gendered benefits of this option
- Raising awareness by incorporating the Act into the policy may result in further inclusion of gender equality to procurement processes
Overall impact
- The team recognise this option does not promote accountability for gender equality, which is an important factor for strengthening gender equality in procurement
- This option does not consider intersectional considerations of community members
- The team agree that option 1 has a negative gender impact
The second option involves including gender equality as consideration of sustainability in procurement. This would require tenders to demonstrate how they are promoting gender equality in their practices. Tenders can show this by being owned, led or staffed by women and gender-diverse people, and through having gender equality policies in place including family violence leave.
Gendered benefits of this option
- More businesses owned and staffed by women and gender-diverse people will receive work from council
- Increases women’s and gender-diverse people’s participation in the workforce and reduces gender inequity in procurement
Gendered risks of this option
- There may be backlash from community businesses who do not understand the benefits of gender equality
- This option doesn’t prepare staff for the process of applying a gender lens to procurement agreements, which is likely to unintentionally reinforce any biases which may persist
- This option does not work to increase community knowledge of the policy, so many women and gender-diverse business owners may not know about procurement opportunities
Overall impact
- There are positive gender impacts from this course of action, yet the lack of accountability within the procurement system remains inequitable
- There is no mention of intersecting factors that contribute to inequality in procurement, such as age, and no support for LGBTIQ+ run businesses
- The team feel this could be strengthened considerably, and agree that option 2 has a neutral gender impact
The team are aware that the other options do not do enough to promote gender equality. Identifying gaps in the previous options, and applying the research they have collected, they create a third option. This involves:
- Adding questions within tender/expressions of interest which ask the business to demonstrate that they have gender equitable practices in place. Examples would be family violence leave, gender affirmation leave, zero tolerance to violence policies, LGBTIQ+ discrimination prevention policies
- Ensuring compliance with WGEA procurement standards for businesses over 100 staff
- Considering how tenders are advertised and ensure that these are distributed to networks which include businesses owned by women, gender-diverse people and those with other intersecting attributes
- Training staff and promoting these changes within council through internal communications
- Providing additional supports to assist businesses that are owned by women and gender-diverse people, migrant communities and older populations to become creditors
- Reviewing of all associated forms and procedures to ensure they are inclusive and easy to understand
- Increasing efforts to collect gender disaggregated data related to businesses within the municipality, including data on transgender and gender-diverse people
- Developing a database of socially sustainable businesses owned by women, members of the LGBTIQ+ community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Gendered benefits of this option
- Actively supports gender equality amongst businesses engaged in procurement, ensuring a higher involvement of women and gender-diverse people
- Protects women and gender-diverse people working at these businesses, ensuring they have gender equitable practices in place
- Promotes ongoing commitment to understanding gendered impacts through the collection of gender-disaggregated data
- Training staff in gender equitable practices relating to procurement will ensure that this policy is continuously upheld and actioned regardless of staff movement
- It incorporates an intersectional lens, considering how all women have varying experiences when it comes to exclusion
Gendered risks
- There may be backlash from businesses owned by men who have previously experienced less competition in procurement processes, but the benefits far outweigh this risk
Overall outcome
- This option promotes intersectional gender equality and provides historically marginalised groups to access more economic opportunities
- It also sets up council for sustainable, long-term success
- The team agree that option 3 has a positive gender impact

Step 4: Finalise recommendations

The team must now make final recommendations for the development of the policy. As they are making these changes in collaboration with other local government areas, they will bring these ideas to the cross-council procurement team.

Zara and her team decide that Option 3 is the most comprehensive and will have the most positive gender impact. It will contribute to transforming gender norms by creating opportunities for businesses led by women and gender-diverse people to apply for tenders in a highly male-dominated space. It will also promote gender equality by requiring businesses to have stronger gender-equality policies in place. By weighting businesses with family violence leave policies and zero-tolerance to violence and harassment, council will also further promote practices that reduce violence against women.

Zara splits her recommendations in two categories:

Recommendations for the policy document:

The tender document or expression of interest will incorporate questions to demonstrate that the business has gender equitable practices in place. Examples would be family violence leave, gender affirmation leave, zero tolerance to violence policies, LGBTIQ+ discrimination prevention policies
The policy will require compliance with WGEA procurement standards for businesses over 100 staff
Tenders and expressions of interest are to be advertised across diverse networks which include businesses owned by women, gender-diverse people and those with other intersecting attributes

Recommendations for supporting application of the revised policy:

Review all associated forms and procedures to ensure they are inclusive and easy to understand
Develop a communications plan to promote the changes in policy within council and work with other organisations with close links to the community to understand the requirements
Provide additional supports to assist businesses that are owned by women, gender-diverse people, migrant communities and older populations to become creditors
Collect gender-disaggregated data, including trans and gender-diverse data, related to businesses within the municipality. This should be accompanied by communication and education regarding maintaining safety, confidentiality, why the data is collected, how it will benefit end users, how data is stored, who has access to it and what it will be used for
Develop a database for socially sustainable businesses, including those owned by women, members of the LGBTIQ+ community, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

The team’s final recommendation also includes the gendered benefits and risks of the policy, as outlined within the options analysis.

It is important that when the team undertake their options analysis and make a final recommendation that they do not default to the least costly option, the option which benefits the most people, or one which may not result in actual tangible changes. Doing so may exclude the most marginalised members of the community.

Preparing for progress reporting to the Commission

Now that the team have completed their gender impact assessment, Zara considers how to report the progress to the Commission for Gender Equality in the Public Sector per their obligations under the Gender Equality Act.

The progress report is due every two years. There is still time before it’s due, but Zara understands the benefits of recording this information as early as possible. It will save her, and others, time and effort as the reporting deadline approaches.

The team knows that for the GIA component of the progress report they will need to:

Identify all policies, programs and services that were subject to a gender impact assessment
Report on the actions taken as a result of the gender impact assessment

Discussing with their manager, the team learn their organisation maintains an internal register of completed GIAs that capture the necessary information for progress reporting. They add their information to this register about the recently conducted gender impact assessment.

Actions that were approved as a result of the GIA:

The GIA was presented to the network of LGAs who collaborated on the original policy. After robust discussion, the following actions were agreed:

The tender document/EOI will incorporate questions to demonstrate that the business has gender equitable practices in place. Examples include family violence leave, gender affirmation leave, zero tolerance to violence policies and LGBTIQ+ discrimination prevention policies
The policy will require compliance with WGEA procurement standards for businesses over 100 staff
Consideration will be given for how tenders are advertised to ensure that these are distributed to networks which include businesses owned by women, gender-diverse people and those with other intersecting attributes

It was further decided that individual councils would aim to undertake the following actions within 2 years:

Support will be provided for businesses that are owned by women, gender-diverse people, migrant communities and older populations to become creditors
All associated forms and procedures will be reviewed to ensure they are inclusive and easy to understand
Gender disaggregated data will be collected, including trans and gender-diverse data, related to businesses within the area. This will be accompanied by communication and education regarding maintaining safety, confidentiality, why the data is collected, how it will benefit end users, how data is stored, who has access to it and what it will be used for
A database will be developed to log socially sustainable businesses, those owned by women, members of the LGBTIQ+ community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

Governance

Updated 20 July 2023

Applying a gender impact assessment to a procurement policy

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Zara splits her recommendations in two categories: