Gender Inclusive Competition Policy and the OECD Toolkit

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Publication date: 7 September 2023

Access the Toolkit: English • French • Spanish

Download the Checklist: English • French • Spanish

What has competition got to do with gender? Competition authorities play a crucial role in shaping fair and thriving markets. However, the connection between competition and gender is often overlooked.

The OECD Gender Inclusive Competition Toolkit equips competition authorities with the knowledge and tools necessary to incorporate gender considerations into their work. It offers an evidence-based approach, going beyond theory to provide concrete recommendations that can enhance the accuracy of analysis, facilitate cartel investigations and optimise advocacy efforts.

It also provides specific actions to implement and practical tips on how to apply a gender lens to:

Market definition and competitive effects analysis
Data collection and surveys
Remedies, such as in merger review
Cartels and collusion, including investigations
Compliance and Advocacy amongst other areas

By incorporating this Toolkit into their day-to-day operations, competition authorities can contribute even more to the advancement of fair and efficient markets that benefit individuals of all genders.

More resources

The Toolkit contains a Gender Inclusive Competition Checklist with 10 ways to apply a gender lens to competition policy.

Download the checklist (A4, pdf):
English l French l Spanish

‌These key insights list some of findings and benefits of applying a gender lens to the various aspects of competition.

Read the key insights (English, pdf)

This presentation contains key figures in the Toolkit and can be used to amplify its dissemination.

Check out some key figures

Developing evidence in gender inclusive competition policy

The fight for gender equality is one of the defining challenges of our age. While progress has been made in many areas, the relationship between gender and competition remained largely unexplored until 2018, when the OECD began to explore whether a gender lens might in fact help deliver a more effective competition policy.

This was the beginning of the OECD Gender Inclusive Competition Policy project, launched with the support of the Canadian Government and in particular the Canadian Competition Bureau.

The project aimed at developing guidance for competition agencies in this area by:

Generating new evidence
Informing the debate and encouraging other researchers to pick up the topic
Help develop practical guidance for authorities on how to develop a more gender inclusive competition policy (The Toolkit)

In September 2020, the OECD adressed a call for research proposals to academia, private practice, competition agencies, regulators, consultancies or the wider policy world looking for new evidence and help develop guidance on how to develop a more gender inclusive competition policy.

In February 2021, an online workshop took place to discuss the 61 proposals received from 28 different countries. Seven projects were selected to explore cartel behaviour, prioritisation, market definition and public interest considerations. These were presented during an open online conference in October 2021.