Gender emerged as a competition policy issue in 2017, and subsequent discussions have shifted perspectives on how authorities can consider consumers and firms. (Hubbard, 2017[1]) helped kick off these discussions when she noted that monopolies make gender inequality worse by disproportionately harming women as workers and entrepreneurs. Shortly afterwards, an OECD blog1 noted there was little to no literature on the intersection between gender and competition but outlined several areas where there could be a role for gender in competition policy.
Around the same time, the Canadian Government increased work related to the Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus), which aims to mainstream gender and inclusion considerations into policy making. In Canada’s Budget 2018 (Government of Canada, 2018[2]), the government committed that more free trade agreements would be subject to GBA Plus. The Canadian Government then asked the Competition Bureau Canada (Bureau) to determine how competition policy chapters of trade agreements affect gender equality. With little to no research available on competition policy and gender, the Bureau turned to the OECD for help.
Looking at competition enforcement and policy through a gender lens is part of a long-standing effort by the OECD and its Competition Committee to explore the links between competition and the many aspects of inclusiveness, such as poverty and sustainability.2 Responding to Canada, in 2018, the OECD began to explore whether a gender lens might help deliver a more effective competition policy. This work aimed to identify additional relevant features of markets, to take a more nuanced look at the behaviour of consumers and firms, and to see whether a more effective competition policy could help address gender inequality.
In November 2018, an initial discussion took place at the Global Forum for Competition.3 The discussion provided a conceptual framework to mainstream gender considerations in competition policy, stating that gender can be considered by authorities in competition policy without compromising the consumer welfare focus, and that adopting a gender lens could help with efficiency-based objectives. Competition policy may influence gender inequality, and, at the same time, gender differences may have an impact on the competitive process and on the work of competition authorities. Several practical applications to incorporate gender were suggested, on matters such as product market definition, compliance with competition law, and prioritisation decisions. This Toolkit provides guidance for those, and other areas, related to competition policy and enforcement.
Between 2018 and 2020, several events and discussions on gender and competition generated further interest in the topic. This led to the OECD Gender Inclusive Competition Policy project, funded by the Canadian Government, under which the OECD launched a call for further research in 2020. Over 60 proposals from around the world were submitted, with seven selected by the OECD to generate new evidence. The research papers, along with the earlier research and discussions, are an important source of evidence, practical tips, and guidance in the development of this Gender Inclusive Competition Policy Toolkit.4
This Toolkit is a result of work conducted primarily under the OECD Gender Inclusive Competition Policy project funded by the Government of Canada. The insights and evidence reported in this Toolkit are based on the following seven research papers, along with OECD research:
