Using public procurement to advance gender equality

Gender mainstreaming is a strategy for achieving gender equality objectives. This includes the national gender equality policy objectives or other objectives determined by municipal or regional councils. The strategy means that all planning, decision making, implementation and follow-up must have a gender equality perspective. It is a strategy intended to make gender equality efforts an integral part of regular operations instead of being carried out through separate projects.

In order to firmly establish gender equality requirements in an organisation, these must be integrated into existing processes, in governance, management and follow-up. If the gender equality aspect is incorporated into existing procurement policy, procurement checklists, guides, reporting systems, communication and so on, it will become a natural part of operations for those who work directly with the issue.

The strategy assumes that overarching decisions relating to gender mainstreaming have already been made, that management follows up these efforts, and that there are knowledge and skills in gender equality within the organisation.

The Swedish government has adopted a national procurement strategy. One of its seven objectives is that public procurement shall contribute to a socially sustainable society, in which gender equality is mentioned as one important aspect. The strategy is mainly aimed at government authorities, but can also support municipalities, regions and other contracting authorities.

The National Public Procurement Strategy (PDF)

Many government authorities are assigned to work with gender equality by means of their directives or budget and policy specifications. For a few years now, extensive work has also been under way to develop the efforts of authorities regarding gender mainstreaming with support from the Swedish Gender Equality Agency.

Special support for authorities (the Swedish Gender Equality Agency's website)

About 30 government authorities are also subject to the Ordinance on Anti-discrimination Clauses in procurement contracts, and are instructed to include special stipulations for preventing discrimination on the part of suppliers when awarding contracts. The purpose of this is to increase the impact of the prohibition against discrimination in the Discrimination Act.

Ordinance on Anti-discrimination Clauses (Förordning om antidiskrimineringsvillkor – 2006:260) (Swedish parliament's website)

Elected officials in many municipalities and regions have made political commitments to provide services equally to different groups of women and men, and to distribute resources fairly between the genders. One common way of doing so is to endorse the European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life – the so-called CEMR Charter –, which includes provisions relating to public procurement. By the end of 2020, 112 municipalities and 18 regions had endorsed the CEMR Charter in Sweden.

The European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life (in English)

The CEMR Charter was adopted in 2006 by the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR). The Charter is a tool for municipalities and regions to use in integrating a gender equality perspective into political decisions and in their practical work. SALAR endorses the Charter and encourages its members to sign it.

When municipalities or regions outsource some of their work, Article 12 comes into play:

The Municipality or region must ensure that the supplier to whom the contract is awarded takes on the same responsibility for ensuring or promoting gender equality as the municipality/region would have if it had provided the service itself. The municipality also undertakes to use its powers in accordance with EU procurement legislation to set requirements regarding social considerations as stipulations for performing the contract.

By means of the CEMR Charter, the signatory is obligated to ensure that employees or consultants responsible for procurement and contracts relating to external services have the knowledge necessary in order to keep the gender equality dimension in mind in their work.

The gender mainstreaming strategy means that gender equality becomes an issue for all employees in an organisation, but it does not mean that everyone automatically becomes an expert on gender equality. Make sure that the team has access to gender equality competence.

• Does the organisation have a gender equality strategist?
• Is there a sustainability strategist who has gender equality competence?
• Are there people in the area of activity who have gender equality competence, such as a development manager?

Define responsibilities and roles within the team so that the gender equality perspective does not fall between the cracks or becomes a task for "everyone and no one".

Collaborating with other contracting organisations may be a good way of strengthening competence and deepening gender equality analyses. Are there any authorities, municipalities or regions that have experience in working systematically with gender equality requirements in their procurements? Are there any others who have made procurements within the same contractual sector or on the basis of similar challenges to gender equality?

Identify activities that must be carried out before, during and after procurement, when they should be done and how long it takes to do them. In which areas is it relevant to have a gender equality perspective? How do you ensure that a gender equality perspective is maintained? Who is responsible for the issue in the various stages of the process? What support might be needed?

Start to think, too, about the circumstances for identifying and analysing needs and the market from a gender equality perspective. Are there any known challenges to gender equality in the contractual sector? Are there any gender-disaggregated statistics available for analysis and follow-up? If not, is there any other data that can be used to support the analysis? What possibilities are there of complementing statistics with research and other studies?

When assignments, expertise, organisation and resources are in place for working with gender equality requirements in procurement, it is time to identify and analyse the needs that the requirements are intended to meet. You also need to consider which requirements the suppliers are reasonably able to live up to.

Make use of existing knowledge and research. Many challenges to gender equality are structural in nature and are found in all sectors of society and in other regions or municipalities than your own.

On SALAR's website, there are a number of fact sheets that briefly describe challenges to gender equality in various fields of activity within municipalities and regions.

Fact sheets on challenges to gender equality (SALAR's website)

Every two years, Statistics Sweden provides a compilation of statistics regarding the conditions experienced by women and men. It provides a good overview of challenges to gender equality within different areas.

Women and men in Sweden 2022 (SCB)

Differences in the conditions and circumstances experienced by women and men are often due to structural factors. This means that challenges to gender equality are often general. The fact that women and men largely live and work in separate areas and at different levels of society is something experienced all over Sweden (and the world). Women and men largely work in different sectors and industries, engage in different leisure activities, are responsible for different parts of unpaid household and care work, and suffer from physical and psychological ill health in different ways, to give a few examples.

It can therefore be good to conduct the gender equality analysis as early as at the category level. That way, there will be basic knowledge within the organisation regarding challenges to gender equality that can serve as the basis for analysis in various procurements within one and the same category or contractual sector.

During the identification phase, issues that need to be mapped out and further analysed are identified. This may involve the following:

• In what procurements may it be relevant to set requirements regarding gender equality?
• Which requirements are appropriate to set?
• What are the possibilities for setting requirements connected with gender equality for products, services and construction contracts?
• How can you hold a dialogue with potential suppliers?

A contracting authority has considerable freedom to decide on requirements that will be set for a procurement object, as long as the basic principles of procurement are followed. One of these principles is that such requirements must be within reasonable proportion to the object that is to be procured (the principle of proportionality). This means that requirements must be both appropriate and necessary in order to achieve the aim of the procurement. The requirements must therefore not be unnecessarily far-reaching. Exactly what is proportional or not can be determined according to the procurement object on a case-by-case basis. The requirements must also have some connection with what is to be procured.

More information about the basic principles of procurement can be found on the National Agency for Public Procurement's website:

Information about the basic principles of procurement (the National Agency for Public Procurement's website)

Requirements can be set either by specifying how the product, service or construction contract shall be performed or by describing the function; that is, what shall be achieved instead of how something shall be achieved.

By describing the desired functions, effects and results of the procurement, you leave it to the suppliers to find the best solution. For example, it is not the contracting organisation that needs to describe how a supplier shall reach an even gender distribution amongst caretakers, or how snow clearance shall meet the needs of different groups of women and men, girls and boys. For further information about different ways of setting requirements, please see the section on implementing the procurement process.

Another requirement could be that a procured product, service or construction contract shall meet the needs of both women and men, or must contribute in some other way to gender equality between different groups of women and men. Examples could include occupational health services having knowledge regarding gender differences with regards to work-related ill health on the part of women and men, or estate managers having staff who know how to act if there are indications of violence in a flat.

If what is procured is produced outside of Sweden, it is important to identify the risks that exist in the supply chain with regards to gender equality. For example, in the textile industry, women comprise the majority of workers. In Bangladesh, India, Cambodia and elsewhere, reports have been received of serious forms of discrimination on the basis of gender, such as physical violence, sexual abuse and denied compensation during parental leave. Even when textiles are manufactured in Europe, such as Central and Eastern Europe, discrimination against women has been reported with regards to wages etc.

The National Agency for Public Procurement has produced an easily accessible digital service for identifying sustainability risks in connection with production in other countries.

Identifying sustainability risks in the supply chain (the National Agency for Public Procurement's website)

Depending on whether the gender equality requirements involve the supplier as an employer or the procurement object itself, the requirements will be worded in different ways in the public tender. See the following sections for further information.

In order to set gender equality requirements, a clear picture is needed of the challenges to gender equality that the procurement in question may help to solve, or the way in which gender equality requirements may raise the quality of a specific activity. The aim of the analysis is to identify the need(s) that is/are to be met.

In order to identify the need, you can use interviews, focus groups, surveys, workshops etc. Try to involve different groups of women and men, girls and boys with regards to age, impairment, socioeconomic circumstances etc.

Regardless of the method chosen, the outcome of this identification should be a clearly expressed and focused need.

By identifying those that actually make use of products, services or constructions that are procured, you will be able to form a picture of whether the resources are distributed equally between women and men. It is also important to identify those who are not normally users and the reasons why they are not. Do women use parks or other natural areas in the municipality to the same extent as men, and during the same times? Multi-storey car parks? Do they use the outdoor gym? Where appropriate, what needs to be done so that everyone is able to use what is purchased to the greatest extent possible? Remember that the circumstances of different users vary and that they also change over time and in different situations.

If possible, broaden the survey to include different groups of women and men on the basis of things like age, level of education, country of birth and disabailities.

The next step is to conduct a market analysis in order to gain knowledge about what the market has to offer and what suppliers there are available. Perhaps you have already done a market analysis at the category level? If so, start from there and complement it as needed. Use the results from the needs analysis in this work. What needs relating to gender equality are to be met with this procurement?

By setting gender equality requirements, you can:

• help stimulate development in an industry by rewarding suppliers that are already carrying out good efforts for gender equality, whilst encouraging other suppliers to follow suit, both as employers and suppliers of products, services and constructions
• encourage suppliers to reflect on their activities in that they are asked to describe how they work with gender equality and how they wish to improve these efforts
• show clearly what the contracting organisation values and is willing to pay extra for – in this case, gender equality

An important part of the market analysis is to have a dialogue with suppliers at an early stage. This applies especially prior to setting gender equality requirements. Dialogue can involve meeting potential suppliers, experts and other parties to gain knowledge of how gender equality requirements can be set in the best way possible in the procurement at hand, as well as what solutions the market is able to offer on the basis of the goals and purpose of the procurement.

An early dialogue can open up the possibility of developing operations. If it is crucial that the organisation achieve ambitious goals relating to gender equality, an early dialogue can contribute to you receiving suggestions for solutions to the needs that must be met. The early dialogue can also help you to see new possibilities, such as shifting away from procuring a product to procuring a service.

Setting requirements in procurement is a balancing act: well-balanced requirements stimulate the market in developing its gender equality efforts, whilst requirements that are excessively high risk unnecessarily shutting out suppliers.

Example questions on which to base a market dialogue

• Do the suppliers have access to gender equality competence?
• How do the suppliers assess their own gender equality efforts as employers, in accordance with the Discrimination Act?
• How do suppliers with fewer than 25 or 10 employees view their opportunity to document their gender equality efforts and their equal pay survey?
• How do the suppliers view the opportunity to design their products, services and constructions according to the needs of women and men?
• What is currently on the market?

During the analysis phase, an assessment is carried out of the possibility of setting gender equality requirements in the procurement in question by analysing the knowledge collected during the planning and identification phases.

A general analysis may be more or less previously done in connection with policy and strategy decisions. For larger contracts, or to adapt to the local and regional level, a more in-depth analysis may nevertheless be needed in order to make a correct assessment of that particular procurement.

As a general rule, there are five parts to a tender document:

• Administrative requirements
• Requirements for the supplier
• Requirements for the procurement object
• Basis for evaluation
• Special contract terms

The administrative requirements must contain a brief and concise description of the procurement object, which can also be used in the notice. At this point, the contracting authority can clarify that it pays regard to social considerations (in this case, gender equality).

Requirements for the supplier consist of an exclusion process and eligibility.

The exclusion process aims to ensure that suppliers have not been guilty of committing certain crimes. From a gender equality perspective, it is important that a contracting authority excludes any supplier from participating in a procurement process if the authority can prove that the supplier has violated applicable environmental, social or labour law obligations.

A contracting authority may set requirements stipulating that suppliers must be eligible in certain respects. Eligibility criteria may relate to:

• qualifications to perform a professional activity
• having a certain economic and financial standing
• certain technical and professional capacity.

A requirement involving technical or professional capacity may mean, for example, that a supplier must have necessary personnel at its disposal who have gender equality competence, and must have the experience in gender equality issues that is needed in order for the contract to be performed.

A contracting authority may require that suppliers prove they have sufficient technical and professional capacity by, for example, submitting appropriate references from previously completed contracts.

It is important that the chosen requirements are adapted and well balanced in relation to the procurement object and the current market. By applying eligibility, the contracting authority can thus ensure that a supplier has the capacity to perform the contract in accordance with the requirements set out in the tender documents.

Further information about requirements for the supplier and grounds for exclusion can be found on the National Agency for Public Procurement's website.

Guide for setting requirements for suppliers and grounds for exclusion (the National Agency for Public Procurement's website)

The section in the tender documents that deals with requirements for the object that is to be procured is often referred to as the list of requirements or technical specifications. It is important to set requirements so that the products procured meet the needs of both women and men.

Products, services and construction contracts must take all citizens into account in a gender-equal and non-discriminatory way. Contracting organisations have considerable freedom when formulating requirements in their public tenders, as long as the basic principles of procurement are followed. The so-called principle of proportionality needs to be particularly kept in mind; that is, that the requirements and conditions connected with gender equality must be within reasonable proportion to the purpose of the procurement.

Exactly how the requirements should be worded depends on the nature and purpose of the procurement object. For example, think about whether the requirements will consist of detailed requirements (performance requirements) or functional ones. Functional requirements specify what is to be achieved rather than giving a detailed description of how a product, service or construction contract is to be executed.

It is possible to use both detailed requirements and functional requirements for a single procurement object. Performance requirements are used to show an acceptable execution for achieving the desired function. This means that, if the requirements overlap and regulate exactly the same part, the performance requirements will outweigh the functional ones.

Example: Construction of a pedestrian tunnel. A functional requirement is that the subway shall feel just as safe to use at any time of the day or night by both and women and men. The performance requirements might state that the tunnel shall have a certain minimum width, that both the tunnel and surrounding area shall be well lit, and that it shall be possible for a person to see the entire tunnel from the entrance of either side.

As long as the supplier builds a subway that meets the requirements that specify the width, visibility and lighting, it does not matter how women and men feel about using the tunnel; the supplier has fulfilled the contract.

Functional requirements in procurement (the National Agency for Public Procurement's website)

Think, too, about which requirements need to be worded as mandatory and which ones should be phrased as award criteria. A tender that fails to meet the mandatory requirements must be rejected, which makes it very important that such requirements are truly relevant.

A contracting organisation may make use of award criteria that result in an increased quality in order to select the most economically advantageous tender. The basis for evaluation that is to be used must be stated in the tender documents.

If the basis for evaluation that is to be used is the best price-to-quality ratio or cost, the award criteria must be weighted. If they cannot be weighted, the contracting organisation must put them in an order of priority. The organisation must state in one of the tender documents how the criteria will be weighted, or which order of priority will apply.

When award criteria are used, suppliers can, for example, describe how they work and how they carry out their efforts relating to gender equality, after which they are awarded added value according to how well they meet the criteria.

However, the criteria must be relevant to the execution of the task, and it is not possible to set requirements for anything that goes beyond the assignment itself. For example, it may be possible to set requirements stating that half of the consultants in an assignment shall be of the under-represented gender, as long as it is linked to the procurement object and the requirement is in reasonable proportion to the objective. This could involve an effort to balance the gender distribution in a certain industry or type of work.

Special contract terms clarify the rights and obligations of the contracting organisation and the supplier, as well as specifying how the delivery or task shall be carried out. A contracting organisation may set special social terms with regards to how a contract shall be performed. The special contract terms do not need to be met at the time a supplier submits its tender, but must be complied with when the contract is fulfilled. They come into force when the contract begins to apply or at another point in time determined by the contracting organisation.

One example of special contract terms are the requirements set by Luleå municipality in a framework agreement for photographic services. Suppliers in that case obligated themselves to participate in a training course to learn imagery from a gender perspective. In that way, the municipality could ensure that it would receive a gender-equal image bank, whilst the photographers were given an opportunity to receive further training.

There are no obstacles in the legislation to stipulating terms regarding gender equality in a contract. However, the basic rule, which applies to all special terms for the performance of a contract, is that there must be a connection to whatever is being acquired. The terms must therefore be connected to the procurement object. One of the reasons this is important is that requirements and terms must not result in tenderers being discriminated against in the procurement process.

In the preparatory work for the procurement legislation, it is stated that, apart from this connection to what is being acquired, the basic principles of procurement law are the only things that place limits on the special contract terms that a contracting authority may set. This applies, for example to terms that aim to promote gender equality at work, an increased participation of women on the labour market, and a balance between work and private life.

Illustrative example: The municipality of Luleå sets gender equality requirements in procurement (SALAR's website)

The contracting organisation should monitor the requirements that have been set, so it is good if the tender documents describe how the contract will be followed up. Exactly what shall be followed up depends on the requirements that have been set in the contract, the type of contractual terms, and the needs of the contracting organisation. It is good to include a follow-up plan together with the tender documents containing information about when and how the contract will be followed up. The plan should also describe the follow-up of the gender equality requirements that have been set for the procurement object.

Based on the individual procurement, assess whether it would be relevant to collect statistics, and in such case what type of statistics should be requested, perhaps for use in follow-up. If the procurement of public transport requires that the contractor work actively so that female and male passengers feel equally safe, gender-disaggregated statistics will be needed in order to know how well the contractor has succeeded.

So, in order to be able to follow up gender equality requirements, statistics will usually need to be gender disaggregated. The following points should therefore be included in the clause specifying which statistics the supplier shall provide to the contracting organisation:

• Written statistics regarding the product, service or construction that is procured
• Statistics shall be gender disaggregated
• Intervals for when this shall be done
• Statistics shall be provided free of charge to the contracting organisation

It is also important to compile internal statistics regarding purchase values. This provides the contracting organisation with the foundation for a basic spend analysis that can be used in comparisons and as a tool for organisational development.

Purchasing statistics also increase transparency and give insight into how tax revenues are used in practice. From a gender equality perspective, it is important to be able to see patterns in what is purchased, how much it costs, and for which groups it is acquired. Is it mostly men or women who benefit from a new sports arena, a bridleway, a new district health care centre or a certain bus route?

Depending on how the gender equality requirements and award criteria are formulated, their significance will vary during examination and evaluation of tenders.

As regards the procurement object itself, all mandatory requirements connected to gender equality need to be met. If, instead of mandatory requirements, they are award criteria, the different tenders should be evaluated and weighted accordingly. If, for example a mandatory requirement is that at least half of procured consultants shall be women, it is not possible to accept a tender where only a third of the consultants are women. The contracting authority would not in that case have followed what was stated in the tender documents, and would therefore have failed to uphold the basic principles of procurement.

If, on the other hand, it is an award criterion rather than a mandatory requirement, in cases where half of a supplier’s consultants are women, such suppliers are granted added value when the tenders are evaluated. Those who meet the award criterion thus have a greater chance of winning the contract.

It is important that everyone that the agreement concerns is given the information they need in order to be able to use the agreement as intended. This applies to managers and employees in the procuring organisation as well as citizens, users, patients etc. Explain why you have set gender equality requirements in the contract, in what way these requirements are expected to contribute to solving challenges to gender equality, and in what way they affect the design of the product, service or construction.

Do also describe how the agreement is followed up from a gender equality perspective and the available opportunities for citizens/users/patients to participate in the follow-up because they are women and men.

It would also be appropriate to hold a start-up meeting with the supplier. Make sure that procurement agents, purchasers and other relevant parties are there, too. At the start-up meeting, you could establish a joint follow-up plan, explain the stipulations relating to gender equality in the agreement for both parties, and go through the procedures and guidelines relevant to the specific procurement object.

There is much to gain from actively following up and managing the agreement throughout the contract period; it makes it easier to achieve the objectives of the completed procurement, and can provide good groundwork for future procurements.

The aim of following up an agreement is to ensure that the supplier delivers what has been requested and meets the requirements in the tender documents.

Apart from follow-up, contract management involves internally administering all of an organisation's agreements. Further information about following up and managing the agreement can be found on the National Agency for Public Procurement's website.

Support for following up and managing the agreement (the National Agency for Public Procurement)

One prerequisite for a successful procurement and a good business relationship is that the contract is followed up for the duration of the agreement, and sometimes even afterwards. The contract requirements should be followed up. This includes:

• Administrative requirements
• Requirements for the supplier
• Requirements for the procurement object
• Basis for evaluation
• Special contract terms

Deviations or shortcomings must also be continually addressed. The terms included in the tender document must state how these will be governed. During follow-up, you can clarify how these terms will be applied. Many contracts specify escalating sanctions or an action plan for how shortcomings and deviations will be handled.

In order to direct the organisation towards good purchasing practice, it is important to work on internal governance in contract management. Amongst other things, this involves conducting various kinds of analysis and communications efforts connected to administration.

Are there criteria to follow up, and is there a plan for how to do so? It is important to formulate measurable criteria or key figures for following up the procurement from a gender equality perspective. Gender equality requirements should thus always be linked to criteria for follow up. Likewise, it is important to specify how a follow-up shall be done and who is responsible for the various activities relating to it.

Before a contract expires or a decision is made to extend it, you should compile a summary of how the contract has worked on the basis of the gender equality requirements. Assess whether you have achieved the gender equality objectives you had for the procurement. It is good to make this assessment both together with your supplier and internally within your organisation.

This then forms the basis for future contract management.

The evaluation of the previous contract period provides important information for the analysis phase of future procurements involving similar products, services or construction contracts.