To the extent permitted by the rules that govern procurement of PPP contracts in a specific country, PPP procurement can promote gender equality and women's empowerment.57
Areas where procurement is particularly relevant as a tool for gender development in PPP projects include:
• Prevention and mitigation of risks that are typically more relevant for women than for men (for example, risk of sexual harassment and gender-based violence caused by labor influx during project construction), and
• Promotion of women as employees, entrepreneurs, leaders and stakeholders.58
Some potential entry points for gender criteria during the PPP bidding process, and examples for interventions, are summarized below.
i. Procurement Strategy
The procurement stage typically starts with the development of a procurement strategy, based on the results of the appraisal stage, where the market interest has been assessed, and the types of private firms that may be interested in the project have been identified.
Depending on the market assessment, and the targets identified during the appraisal stage, the procurement strategy can actively promote women's empowerment, and in particular, the inclusion of women-owned enterprises in PPP projects. Women-owned businesses are often disadvantaged when it comes to participating in PPP projects.59 Although women-owned businesses face unique challenges, many methods that are discussed with regard to the integration of small-scale SMEs in PPP projects can be applied respectively to overcome barriers faced by women-owned SMEs.60 In this context, it may also be good for project teams to review the local procurement policy to find out if there is already public infrastructure in place to support women-owned businesses.
| Box 17: Definition of a Women-Owned Business A woman-owned business should at a minimum include: • At least 51 percent independent ownership by one or more women; • Unconditional control by one or more women over both long-term decision-making and the day-to-day management and administration of the business operations; and • Independence from non-women-owned businesses. Source: The Power of Procurement: How to Source from Women-Owned Businesses-Corporate Guide to Gender-Responsive Procurement, UN Women, 2017. |
Examples of actions to facilitate and encourage the participation of women-owned businesses in PPP projects:
• Streamlining of the application process;
• Division of bids into smaller ones;
• Use of communication channels (for example, for the publication of tender documents) that are equally known to and used by women- and men-owned businesses; and
• Provision of training opportunities for women-owned businesses and improved access to ICT.
Table 3: Tools, Including Women-Owned Businesses Across the Supply Chain
| SheWorks: Putting Gender Smart Commitments into Practice, IFC, 2016 | Women's Empowerment in the Global Value Chain: A Framework for Business Action to Advance Women's Health, Rights, and Wellbeing, Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), 2016 | |
| Incorporating Small Producers into Formal Retail Supply Chains: Sourcing Readiness Checklist, University of Michigan, 2016 | Unlocking Markets for Women to Trade and Empowering Women through Public Procurement, International Trade Centre (ITC), 2016 | The power of procurement: How to source from women-owned businesses, UN Women, 2017 |
| Global Supplier Diversity & Inclusion Reaching the Gold Standard, WEConnect International, 2017 | The Business Case for Global Supplier Diversity and Inclusion, WEConnect International, 2017 | Unlocking Opportunities for Women and Business-Tool 2: Women-Owned Businesses and the Supply Chain, IFC, 2018 |
ii. Qualification Requirements
Bidding documents can also stipulate certain qualification requirements for bidders-for example, the experience, skills and capabilities the private partner should have. These qualification requirements are either submitted alongside the proposal in a one-stage open tender process, or during a separate pre-qualification stage.
Qualification criteria can take gender-related requirements into account.61 For example, bidders can be required to submit the following:
1. Details regarding past experience and performance with gender-sensitive projects (e.g., reports regarding sexual harassment and how the issue was addressed, and details regarding gender-sensitive community engagement).
2. Means to address harassment and other forms of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) and GBV. Bidding companies could, for example, be asked to submit a code of conduct that applies to their employees and sub-contractors, and to provide details on compliance, or on how this code of conduct will be implemented (for details, see Vanuatu Aviation project).62
| Box 18: Example of Code of Conduct-the World Bank Group Standard Request for Proposal After Prequalification Requires a Development of Code of Conduct " "The Bidder shall submit its Code of Conduct that will apply to Contractor's Personnel (…), to ensure compliance with its Environmental, Social, Health and Safety (ESHS) obligations under the contract. (…) In addition, the Bidder shall detail how this Code of Conduct will be implemented. This will include: how it will be introduced into conditions of employment/engagement, what training will be provided, how it will be monitored and how the Contractor proposes to deal with any breaches. The Contractor shall be required to implement the agreed Code of Conduct." Source: Request for Bids Work-After Prequalification, World Bank, 2017. |
3. A supplier diversity code of conduct63 that applies to the bidder's own operations and its sub-contractors, to promote equal participation of local companies-particularly women-owned companies-in the project, as well as details on compliance, showing how the code of conduct will be implemented.
| Box 19: Example of Supplier Diversity Code of Conduct-Transport for London Puts Equality and Inclusion at Heart of Program ""In 2004 Transport for London (TfL) put together a five-year 10-billion-pound investment program to fund large-scale construction projects in London, including an extension to the East London Line railway. Equality and inclusion were regarded as being at the heart of that program and integral to procurement contracts. (…) TfL therefore introduced a set of requirements for bidders to be implemented during the execution of the project: an equality policy for the project, a diversity training plan for staff working on the project and a supplier diversity plan (to ensure that diverse suppliers were able to bid for subcontracting opportunities arising from the project). These requirements were incorporated in the invitation to tender and in the conditions of the contract. " Source: Buying Social-A Guide to Taking account of Social Considerations in Public Procurement, European Commission, 2010. |
4. Management strategies and implementation plans that show how the bidder plans to ensure compliance with gender-related requirements of the project or to go beyond these standards (for example, how the project intends to increase entrepreneurship opportunities, employment for local women at different levels of responsibilities, or gender-sensitive training for local workforces for the transfer of skills).
| Box 20: Example of Local Content Requirements-the South African Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPPP) Under the REIPPPP, independent power producers (IPPs) are either required or encouraged to meet the following criteria: • In terms of job-creating targets, 12 to 20 percent of the staff of renewable-energy plants must originate from the local communities where they are located. Because South Africa's population is predominantly female, a fair number of these local beneficiaries are women. • At least 12 percent of project shareholding is reserved for black people, including women. • IPPs should aim to procure up to five percent of their inputs exclusively from women-owned vendors or business enterprises. • IPPs must aim for 40 percent black top management in their project companies, with preference for black women in particular. The program is also benefitting women through the socio-economic development and enterprise development initiatives implemented by IPPs. Source: Eberhard, Anton and Naude, Raine, The South African Renewable Energy IPP Procurement Programme: Review, Lessons Learned, and Proposals to Reduce Transaction Costs, Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town, 2017; see Table 5, p. 26. |
5. Bidders' internal human-resource policies and procedures that actively seek to address all forms of deliberate or unintentional discrimination against women in the workforce, including proactive promotion of gender equality and diversity in the workforce and anti-sexual-harassment policies, as well as data that shows compliance with these policies (for example, gender wage-gap data or corporate-leadership data).
iii. Evaluation Criteria
The contracting authority will select the preferred bidder according to criteria for the evaluation of bids, their weightings, and the way they will be evaluated. These criteria are published in advance. Some examples of evaluation criteria are the lowest tariff, fee, or availability payment, or the best quality of service.
Evaluation criteria can include objectives relating to a proposal that are not directly measurable in financial terms, such as the achievement of gender-related goals. The considerations elaborated above regarding qualification requirements apply respectively for evaluation criteria. Extra points can be given for the demonstrated capacity of a bidder to implement gender requirements, judged by past performance, or, for proposed measures, by strategies and implementation plans that maximize job creation for women or that prevent gender-related risk.
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57 For a general overview of relevant environmental and social issues to be considered during the preparation of the procurement process and contractor selection, see Managing Contractor's Environmental and Social Performance, IFC, 2017.
58 This depends on the country strategy, success with similar projects, and expected interest by the private sector towards the project.
59 In comparison to male-owned enterprises, they tend to be smaller; they may not have access to established business networks; the channels in which women learn about tenders are typically more limited; they have less access to trainings needed for the application process and certification; and they may be disadvantaged by financial and legal requirements they cannot fulfil.
60 See UN Women, 2017.
61 For details regarding prequalification criteria that relate to environmental and social issues, including a questionnaire, see IFC, 2017 (Annex A).
62 For another example, see Gender Equality in Codes of Conduct Guidance, BSR, (https://www.bsr.org/reports/BSR_Gender Equality in Codes of Conduct Guidance.pdf).
63 An example from the banking sector is the Supplier Diversity and Inclusion Code of Conduct of the Royal Bank of Scotland: https://weconnectinternational.org/images/supplier-inclusion/supplier-inclusion-code-of-conduct-adopting-the-code.pdf.