Competition contributes to economic growth, innovation, and productivity, but it can also contribute to gender equality. By actively incorporating gender considerations into their daily work, competition authorities have the potential to improve the effectiveness and impact of their initiatives while fostering a more competitive, resilient and inclusive economy that benefit individuals of all genders.

The OECD Gender Inclusive Competition Toolkit was developed to help competition authorities identify and incorporate such considerations into their day-to-day work.

Competition authorities require disaggregated data to understand when and how diverse groups of people are harmed disproportionately. Gendered data is a good starting point. However, having a broader set of data is even better, as additional demographic data can be used to control for other characteristics.

Gender can influence consumer preferences, for example whether a consumer sees a product as complementary or substitutable; price-sensitivity; and switching behaviour. Applying a gender lens to market definition and competitive effects analysis allows competition authorities to evaluate whether one group of consumers is better off than another, and if that needs to be corrected or prevented. Competition authorities could also consider differences in behaviour to determine the level of harm for specific groups, and tailor remedies to correct or offset that harm.

Cartels are often formed through the social interactions of people, who gather and exchange information seeking to replace competition with co-operation. Industries that incorporate significant socialisation in the margins of business meetings, where participants are more homogenous and have repeated participation over time, will be at increased risk of cartel behaviour. When investigating and interviewing potential cartelists, competition authorities should seek to understand the broader range of interactions and history between suspected individuals and the gender dimension of those interactions. Moreover, firms that opt to change representatives and pay attention to gender balances may be able to reduce the risk of cartel behaviour.

Competition authorities could benefit from a diverse workforce for many of the same reasons boards do. Those making important decisions benefit from a diversity of perspectives, and this leads to better governance. Moreover, having limited resources and a need to prioritise some matters over others, competition authorities can incorporate in their priorities enforcement and compliance work that address barriers that prevent women from gaining market access.

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.

Officials from competition authorities are the primary audience for the Toolkit. They will find practical tips and guidance on how to include gender considerations in their daily work. Aspects addressed in the Toolkit include how to apply a gender lens to competition analysis, investigations, compliance work and broader institutional approaches like prioritisation.

This checklist contains 10 practical ways to help competition authority officials incorporate gender considerations into their day-to-day work .

Download the checklist (A4, pdf):
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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.

Paper #1 
Gender differences in surveys for market definition and merger analysis by Oxera + Presentation with key findings

Paper #2 
Gender considerations in the analysis of market definition and competitive effects: A practical framework and illustrative example by L. Pinheiro, A.C. Faye, M. Ginn, J.Y. Lehmann and J. Posch + Presentation with key findings

Paper #3 
Cartel behaviour and boys’ club dynamics: French cartel practice through a gender lens  by C. Abate and A. Brunelle + Presentation with key findings

Paper #4 
Gender bias in cartel engagement by J.R. Borrell, C.Garcia, J.L. Jimenez and J.M.Ordonez-de-Haro + Presentation with key findings

Paper #5 
Gender and collusion by J. Haucap, C. Heldman and H. A. Rau  + Presentation with key findings

Paper #6 
Prioritising gendered public interest considerations by B. Mkatshwa, M. Tshabalala and S. Phala  + Presentation with key findings

Paper #7 
Incorporating Gender as a Prioritization Principle and Project Selection Criterion in Competition Agencies  by W. Kovacic  + Presentation with key findings