Women's economic empowerment

ITC-UN Women: Global Campaign on Gender-Responsive Public Procurement

Read more about ITC-UN Women: Global Campaign on Gender-Responsive Public Procurement

What is public procurement?

Public procurement is how governments source goods and services from businesses.

These goods and services help governments provide nutritious meals for schoolkids, better roads for our economy, and affordable healthcare for us.

In fact, almost all of us have benefited from government procurement in some way or form.

The case for gender-responsive public procurement

Up to 40 %

of countries' GDP is spent on government procurement

1 %

of government contracts go to women-led businesses

Research from the International Trade Centre (ITC) reveals that public procurement constitutes 10-15% of developed countries' GDP and up to 40% for developing countries.

While this offers small businesses a huge opportunity to grow, only 1% of government contracts go to women-owned businesses. This is despite women owning one in three firms globally.

Women-owned businesses, which tend to be smaller, face particular barriers when bidding for government contracts. These challenges include:

Bundled tenders
Complex procedures
Financing constraints
Lack of information and networks

Giving women entrepreneurs an equal shot at doing business with the government benefits everyone. For women-owned businesses, winning such contracts allows them to grow their businesses and export; it means more jobs for women and men. For consumers like us, GRPP means a wider range of more innovative products and services.

Video

Global campaign on gender-responsive public procurement – Have you bid for a government contract?

12 April 2024

View more on Youtube

The ITC-UN Women Global Campaign on GRPP

Moving the needle on this 1% can lead to transformative outcomes for not just women-owned businesses, but everyone.

This is why ITC and UN Women are spearheading a global campaign to make sourcing from women a driver of gender equality.

How can you join the campaign?

Country pledges

ITC welcomes country pledges from (i) governments with established GRPP programmes and (ii) governments who are keen to make their foray into GRPP.
A country pledge is a country commitment, outlining specific actions that a government plans to take. There is a menu of options that a country can select from.
Countries should also submit a high-resolution photo of the representative (shoulders apparent) delivering the quote. The name and title should likewise be indicated. Digital quote cards will be created to highlight individual country’s commitment to GRPP.
The quote may be submitted in either English, French or Spanish (see flyer for additional details).

Statements of support

We welcome statements of support from (i) international and regional organizations as well as (ii) governments.
A statement of support is a maximum 40-word quote about your country's or organization's support for GRPP in its policies. It also includes a call to action for other countries and organizations to do the same.
Countries should also submit a high-resolution photo of the representative (shoulders apparent) delivering the quote. The name and title should likewise be indicated. Digital quote cards will be created to highlight the country’s or organization’s commitment to GRPP.
The quote may be submitted in either English, French or Spanish (see flyer for additional details).

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