UN Women’s Empowerment Principles

Gender-Responsive Procurement Assessment Tool

Guidance Note

The UN Women’s Empowerment Principles – Gender-Responsive Procurement (GRP) Assessment Tool

allows companies to assess progress on their GRP policies and practices on gender-responsive
procurement. This self-assessment tool is available to all WEPs signatories.
Consisting of 31 questions, the tool identifies gaps and areas for improvement based on inputs
provided by the company.
The tool – guiding companies to work towards implementing WEPs Principle #5: Enterprise
development, supply chain and marketing practices – was developed in consultation with companies
from Asia and the Pacific and the European Union to ensure that the questions reflect real-life
company practice and adhere to international standards and indicators.
Upon completion of the tool, you will receive an individual score card and resources to consider next
steps for advancing GRP in your company and its supply chain.
Gender-responsive procurement (GRP) is the sustainable selection of services, goods or civil works
that takes into account the impact on gender equality and women’s empowerment. It is founded on
international standards, agreements and principles relevant to improving gender-responsive working
conditions and essential for upholding women’s basic rights in the supply chain.[1]

Sourcing from Women Owned Business

GRP involves sourcing from women-owned businesses (WOBs) and from gender-responsive
enterprises (GREs). Currently, only one per cent of corporate worldwide purchasing goes to women’s
businesses [2], and to date little systematic data have been collected on what proportion of
procurement spending is on gender-responsive enterprises.
A business qualifies as a woman-owned business if it meets the following criteria: [IFC Definition]
(A) ≥ 51 per cent owned by a woman or women.
OR
(B) ≥ 20 per cent owned by a woman or women; AND (i) has ≥ one woman as CEO, COO,
President, Vice President; AND (ii) has ≥ 30 per cent of the board of directors composed of
women, where a board exists.[3]

Sourcing from Gender-Responsive Enterprises

A gender-responsive enterprise would meet rigorous criteria for integrating gender equality and
women’s empowerment principles in policies and practices in the workplace, marketplace and
community to have systemic impacts.[4] As a starting point, this means: working towards gender
balance in terms of employees, senior management and board members; closing the gender pay gap;
incorporating gender equality in into recruitment, promotion and career opportunities; retaining both
women and men full-time employees who take parental leave; and having a confidential grievance,
resolution, reporting and non-retaliation mechanism and procedure to address and respond to
incidents of violence and harassment.
This tool will benefit your company by:
✔ Enhancing brand reputation, customer and staff loyalty
✔ Increasing innovation, resilience and productivity in supply chains
✔ Providing a positive impact in communities where you do business by including competitive
women-owned businesses in all bid opportunities
✔ Reducing costs through increased competition with gender inclusive sourcing efforts
✔ Demonstrating compliance to reporting commitments, such as ESG measures and legislation
on due diligence in supply chains.
This Tool can be used by any business or company seeking to assess the gender-responsiveness of its
procurement mechanisms and supply chain, and to develop a clear Action Plan on how to implement
GRP. This Tool also helps companies to implement the Women’s Empowerment Principles [5] –
specifically Principle 5 on enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices.[6]
How to use the Tool:
Step 0: Familiarize yourself with the questions contained in the GRP Assessment Tool.
Step 1: Sign up to the WEPs if you haven’t done so already at www.weps.org/join
Step 2: Assemble a team of assessors, ideally procurement staff with full access to
information on suppliers and corporate policies and practices
Step 3: Gather relevant documents (e.g., procurement policies, supplier database, corporate
gender equality policies or commitments, if available)
Step 4: Fill the Assessment Tool
Step 5: Review the score
Step 6: Develop a tailored Action Plan based on the results of the Tool

Endnotes
[1] UN Global Marketplace, UN Women, Gender Responsive Procurement,
www.ungm.org/Shared/KnowledgeCenter/Pages/PT_GRP (accessed 3 February 2023) See also, UN Women, 2020.
Guidance Note on Gender-responsive Procurement. www.weps.org/resource/gender-responsive-procurement (accessed 3
February 2023).
[2] E. Vazquez and A. Sherman, 2013. Buying for Impact: How to Buy from Women and Change Our World.
[3] In March 2021, the International Standardization Organization (ISO) published a new standard on definitions and
criteria of women’s entrepreneurship adding clarity and detailed information on the issues of management, control and
independence. ISO, 2021. Women's entrepreneurship — Key definitions and general criteria, IWA 34:2021(en),
www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:iwa:34:ed-1:v1:en (accessed 3 February 2023)
[4] ILO-UN WOMEN brief, 2021. Rethinking Gender-Responsive Procurement: Enabling An Ecosystem For Women’s
Economic Empowerment, p.9. www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2021/07/rethinking-gender-responsive-
procurement (accessed 3 February 2023).
[5] The Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) are a set of Principles offering guidance to business on how to advance
gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community. Established by UN Global
Compact and UN Women, the WEPs are informed by international labour and human rights standards and grounded in the
recognition that businesses have a stake in, and a responsibility for, gender equality and women’s empowerment. Learn
more about the WEPs at www.weps.org
[6] UN Women, Women’s Empowerment Principles, Principle 5 on Enterprise Development, supply chain and marketing
practices. www.weps.org/principle/enterprise-development-supply-chain-and-marketing-practices
 List of Questions

Note: Questions marked with * are mandatory.

Company Information
▪ Country covering the data used in this Questionnaire *
▪ How did you learn about the Tool? *
o WE RISE Together
o Amfori -UN Women GRP Activator
o India – CII UN Women Activator
o Watch & Jewellery Initiative 2030
o Other ___________
▪ Overall Procurement Spend of the Company for the previous fiscal year in the country you
are filling the survey for (in US$) (Optional)
▪ Overall country turnover in the previous full calendar year (in US$) (Optional)

Gender Equality Commitments

1. Do you have a policy or strategy on gender equality? *
• Don’t know
• No
• In discussion or development
• Yes, currently being implemented
• Yes, implemented. Progress and results are measured and reported externally
2. Do you have a public commitment to gender equality, for example have you signed up to the
Women’s Empowerment Principles? *
• No
• In discussion or development
• Yes, currently being implemented
• Yes, implemented. Progress and results are measured and reported externally
3. Is your company reporting to gender equality reporting platforms such as, for example,
WEPs, EDGE, Equileap or Bloomberg, etc.? *
• Don’t know
• No
• No, but we are considering to start reporting on progress and results
• Currently only being reported internally and not on external platforms
• Yes. Progress and results are measured and reported externally
Procurement Policy and Strategy
4. Do you have a stand-alone policy on gender-responsive procurement or is gender-
responsive procurement embedded in your company-wide procurement strategy and
policy? *
• Don’t know
• No
• In discussion or development
• Yes, policy exists or gender responsive procurement is embedded in company wide
procurement strategy
• Yes, implemented. Progress and results are measured and reported.
5. Do you set an annual target of procurement spend for women-owned businesses? *
• Don’t know
• No
• Yes, but this is not shared
• Yes, and this is tracked internally
• Yes, this is tracked internally and reported externally
6. If yes, and reported externally, what is the target?
(Please provide your response as a percentage)

7. Do you set an annual target of procurement spend specific for SMEs (independent of
ownership)? [SME defined as organizations with less than 300 employees] *
*Note: we recognize that the definition of an SME may vary in different country contexts. Please enter your
responses based on your national definition of SMEs.

• Don’t know
• No
• Yes, but this is not shared
• Yes, and this is tracked internally
• Yes, this is tracked internally and reported externally
8. If yes, and reported externally, what is the target?
(Please provide your response as a percentage)

9. Do you set an annual target of procurement spend with diverse suppliers, including those
owned by people with disabilities, from excluded ethnic groups, indigenous people, people
with diverse gender identities and/or sexual orientation? *
• Don’t know
• No
• Yes, but this is not shared
• Yes, and this is tracked internally
• Yes, this is tracked internally and reported externally
10. If yes, and reported externally, what is the target?
(Please provide your response as a percentage)
 11. Do you set and track an annual target of procurement spend for suppliers with gender
equality commitments (i.e. suppliers who signed the WEPs)? *
• Don’t know
• No
• Yes, but this is not shared
• Yes, and this is tracked internally
• Yes, this is tracked internally and reported externally
12. If yes, and reported externally, what is the target?
(Please provide your response as a percentage)

Internal Procurement/Supply Chain Management Department

13. What is the percentage of women employed in your procurement and/or supply chain
management departments? *
• Don’t know
• < 20%
• 20-40%
• > 40%
14. Is your chief procurement or supply chain officer female? (or did you have a female during
the last 5 years in these positions) *
• Don’t know
• No
• Yes
15. What is the percentage of women in management positions in your procurement and/or
supply chain management departments? *
16. Do staff members in procurement and supply chain management departments receive
training or capacity development on understanding gender concepts and/or gender-
responsive procurement? *
• Don’t know
• No
• Yes, employees have been regularly trained in gender equality and/or gender-
responsive procurement
• Yes, training on gender equality and/or gender-responsive procurement is required
for all procurement/supply chain staff and part of new hire orientation

Supplier Database and Data Reporting

17. Do you have a supplier database? *
• Don’t know
• No
• Yes
18. Regarding your own value chain, how many levels/tiers do you track basic supplier data and
performance through your prime suppliers? *
• Don’t know
• Tier 1
• Tiers 1 and 2
• Tier 3 and beyond
19. Does your supplier database capture sex-disaggregated data (or gender disaggregated data)
on the ownership or shareholders of the companies/suppliers? *
• Don’t know
• No
• Yes, up to Tier 1
• Yes, up to Tier 2
• Yes, for up to Tier 3 and beyond
20. Do you systematically track or monitor procurement spend with women-owned
businesses?*
• Don’t know
• No
• Yes, up to Tier 1
• Yes, up to Tier 2
• Yes, for up to Tier 3 and beyond
21. Do you report or share with the public the number of women-owned businesses and/or
procurement spend with women-owned businesses? *
• Don’t know
• No
• Yes
22. Do you systematically track or monitor the procurement spend on other diverse suppliers –
i.e. those owned by people with disabilities, excluded ethnic groups, indigenous people,
scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, religious minorities, people with diverse gender
identities and/or sexual orientation? [The data should be reported either as one classified
group or disaggregated per group] *
• Don’t know
• No
• Yes, up to Tier 1
• Yes, up to Tier 2
• Yes, for up to Tier 3 and beyond
23. Do you report or share with the public the number of other diverse suppliers and/or
procurement spend on other diverse suppliers, i.e. those owned by people with disabilities,
excluded ethnic groups, indigenous people, people with diverse gender identities and/or
sexual orientation? [Other defined as beyond women-owned businesses] *
• Don’t know
• No
• Yes
 24. Do you track whether your suppliers are gender-responsive, e.g. they have signed
commitments to gender equality (i.e. WEPs) or participate in certification schemes; have
stand-alone gender equality policy or have embedded gender equality into their company-
wide policies and strategies; or have a sexual harassment at workplace policy in place; they
have undertaken a gender audit; and/or are reporting to gender platforms such as WEPs,
Equileap, GRI, Bloomberg, etc.? *
• Don’t know
• No
• Yes, up to Tier 1
• Yes, up to Tier 2
• Yes, for up to Tier 3 and beyond
25. Do you track procurement spend with gender-responsive suppliers? *
• Don’t know
• No
• Yes, up to Tier 1
• Yes, up to Tier 2
• Yes, for up to Tier 3 and beyond
26. Do you report or share with the public the number of and/or procurement spend for
suppliers with gender equality commitments? *
• Don’t know
• No
• Yes

Supplier Engagement and Diversification

27. Are you working with any organizations to advance certification of women-owned
businesses and connect certified businesses to your value chains? *
• Don’t Know
• No
• Yes, working with organizations but have not connected certified businesses to our
value chains
• Yes, working with organizations and connecting certified businesses to our value
chains
28. Do you take proactive measures to integrate WOBs into procurement processes, such as: *
• Publish and disseminate widely bid or tender opportunities
• Invite WOBs to submit tenders or bids
• Provide trainings or orientations to WOBs and assistance to complete formal bid
processes
• Provide feedback to and/or assisting suppliers/vendors that are owned or led by
women during the tendering process
• Identify ways to streamline tender and contracting processes for ease of access by
WOBs
• Have a process for all procurement contracts that at least one diverse supplier must
be included in all formal bid opportunities
• Favorable payment terms are in place
29. Do you take proactive measures to encourage existing and new suppliers to be more gender-
responsive, such as: sign up to the WEPs, develop gender equality policies, conduct gender
audit, report to gender platforms like WEPs, EDGE, Equileap, Bloomberg, etc. *
• Don’t know
• No
• Yes
30. Do you take proactive steps to expand relationships with women-owned businesses and
suppliers with gender equality commitments in the value chain and when conducting
procurement, such as participating in trade fairs that showcase WOBs and gender-
responsive enterprises? *
• Don’t know
• No
• Yes
31. Do you connect with any larger databases and/or organizations on women-owned
businesses or diverse suppliers to diversify your supplier footprint? (for example WeConnect
International Certified WOB Database…) *
• Don’t know
• No
• Yes
 Scoring

Section Highest possible Score

Company's gender equality commitments 9
Procurement policy and strategy 15
Internal Procurement/supply chain management
7
department
Supplier database and data reporting 32
Supplier engagement and diversification 15
Total 78

0-20: Beginner
There are no or few GRP initiatives in place.
21-40: Improver
A few GRP elements are currently being planned or in discussion.
41-50 Achiever
Commitment is established through the presence of policies and other
management systems. GRP is being implemented, but results are not yet
demonstrated or systematically reported.
51-78: Leader
GRP is fully implemented and embedded in procurement systems.
Demonstrable results can been shown as an outcome of the GRP
approach.
 Glossary of Terms

EDGE: The EDGE Global Standards – EDGE (gender-binary) and EDGEplus (gender and
intersectionality) – offer a holistic framework against which organizations can measure where they
stand in terms of gender and intersectional equity. The framework consists of requirements and
specifications against which conformance is audited.

Equileap: Equileap is an independent, specialized data provider with a broad scope of gender
metrics to enable investors to make better investment decisions with data on equality in the
workplace. Equileap provides assessments for companies globally on 19 criteria including gender
balance, the gender pay gap, paid parental leave and anti-sexual harassment policies. Equileap data
is used for ESG integration, portfolio analysis, stewardship and managing reputational risks.

Bloomberg: The Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI) tracks the performance of public companies
committed to disclosing their efforts to support gender equality through policy development,
representation, and transparency.

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI): The Global Reporting Initiative is an international independent
standards organization that helps businesses, governments and other organizations understand and
communicate their impacts on issues such as climate change, human rights, gender equality and
corruption.