WEA PUBLICATION MAKES GENDER-RESPONSIVE PROCUREMENT BUSINESS SENSE

KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 (Bernama) -- The Women’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator (WEA) has announced the publication of an Advocacy Brief titled ‘Procurement’s strategic value: Why gender-responsive procurement makes business sense’.

The Advocacy Brief presents compelling evidence of the benefits for strengthening the participation of women in private sector supply chains in realising inclusive economic growth and sustainable development.

Developed by UN Women and funded by Mary Kay Inc in support of WEA, the Advocacy Brief highlights the rollback on progress in achieving gender equality as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as how increasing levels of economic insecurity, supply chain interruptions and unprecedented climate and environmental shocks have a disproportionate impact on women given their unequal position in society.

The publication echoes previous studies showing that economies have better opportunities to grow and are more resilient to crises if women and men have equal rights, according to a statement.

The data presented in the Advocacy Brief outline how the adoption of gender-responsive (GRP) policies and practices through procurement processes is a strategic lever to mitigate the impact of the structural barriers women face and at the same time improve businesses and strengthen economies.

The Advocacy Brief cautions that failing to adopt GRP is a wasted opportunity. The evidence is clear. Reducing gender inequalities is good for business and is smart economics.

To inform the Advocacy Brief, UN Women engaged over 350 stakeholders in 2021, of which over 150 private sector companies were represented, and incorporated seven case studies on companies’ procurement journeys to create an evidence base for why businesses should adopt gender-responsive procurement.

Stakeholder engagement took the form of interviews, a survey and a community of practice, which benefitted from dissemination across a wide range of networks, including the membership and networks of UN Global Compact’s (UNGC).

Through the release of this report, WEA calls on the private sector to adopt GRP strategies and integrate women into global value chains as a vehicle to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This makes business sense while at the same time advances women’s economic empowerment which benefits economies and societies at large.

-- BERNAMA