Urbact - Gender Equal Cities

3C. GENDER-RESPONSIVE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

Every year, over 250 000 public authorities in the EU spend around 14% of GDP on the purchase of services, works and supplies. In many sectors such as energy, transport, waste management, social protection and the provision of health or education services, public authorities are the principal buyers. 15

15 European Commission, Public Procurement , see at: http://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/public- procurement/

This statistic shows the spending power of public authorities. Public procurement is a lever that all local governments can use to bring about economic, social and environmental benefits that, in turn, will have a positive impact on the city and its local economy. So, what is the potential for gender equality in procurement?

At the most fundamental level, cities that outsource basic services have an obligation to ensure that the legal requirements to promote equality between women and men are passed on and carried out by the provider. In relation to public procurement, where these obligations are not passed on, there are opportunities to embed gender equality into the procurement cycle.

Gender equality could become a core component of procurement strategy, much in the same way that creating jobs or reducing carbon emissions is becoming. In order for this to happen, however, it needs to be thought about at the commissioning stage, so people who are designing services think about how gender equality can be embedded into tender documents, in decision-making and monitored as part of service delivery. Obstacles to implementing equality requirements in procurement include lack of political will or fear of complaints from private companies. Solutions are for local administrations to raise awareness and build technical capacity with help, for instance from model equality clauses and women s organisations.