Competition policy usually thinks in terms of consumers and firms, government and regulators. Traditionally, consumers have been considered only by their willingness to pay, their (rational) preferences, their ability to substitute between products offered by firms. Meanwhile, firms are treated as entities that are defined by the profit-maximising objectives of their owners, and only rarely seen as collections of people. Competition policy is therefore largely gender blind and prides itself on its objectivity.
In November 2018, the OECD Global Forum on Competition explored whether a gender lens might in fact help deliver a more objective competition policy by identifying additional relevant features of the market, and of the behaviour of consumers and firms.
This was the first time the OECD discussed the topic that later led to the launch of a dedicated project and the OECD Gender Inclusive Competition Toolkit. Learn more
