The Department of Communities (Communities), with support from the Department of Finance, is leading the Gender Equality in Procurement – WA Public Sector Pilot (the Pilot) initiative to embed gender equality principles and practices into selected government procurement activities. Initially a one-year Pilot, this has now been extended by a further year until June 2024. An interim evaluation was undertaken in mid-2023 and a snapshot of the evaluation report is available below.
The Pilot initiative supports the implementation of Stronger Together: WA’s Plan for Gender Equality, a whole-of-community framework to drive improved outcomes for women across four priority areas: health and wellbeing, safety and justice, economic independence and leadership.
The Second Action Plan under Stronger Together includes more than 50 actions and initiatives being implemented across Government agencies to advance gender equality in WA. Supporting gender equality measures within procurement processes is included as a key action for Communities.
Since the 1 July 2022, a clause relating to gender equality has been included in certain procurement documents for participating agencies on Tenders WA.
- Questions for potential suppliers with 100 or more employees request confirmation of compliance with reporting requirements under the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (Cth).
- Questions for potential suppliers with fewer than 100 employees ask whether certain policies or initiatives are in place to support gender equality.
Introducing gender equality measures into the procurement process is being undertaken gradually in order to build awareness and understanding of the business benefits of gender equality.
The Western Australian Social Procurement Framework (Framework) was released by Department of Finance in 2021 as part of broader procurement reform to improve efficiencies across the WA public sector. Gender equality is a key social outcome of the Framework.
There are 19 State Government agencies are participating in the Pilot including:
- Department of Communities
- Department of Finance
- Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
- Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
- Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage
- Department of Justice
- Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries
- Department of Water and Environmental Regulation
- VenuesWest
- Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions
- Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation
- WA Police
- Department of the Premier and Cabinet
- Public Transport Authority
- Main Roads
- Public Sector Commission
- Department of Health
- Department of Education
- Department of Fire and Emergency Services
Evaluation
Communities has undertaken a preliminary evaluation of the Gender Equality in Procurement – WA Sector Pilot program to obtain early insights on how public sector procurement can be an effective mechanism to raise awareness of the benefits of workplace gender equality. Download the Evaluation Report 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023 – Snapshot below.
Resources for suppliers
Communities has developed the following resources to support local businesses and suppliers by highlighting the business benefits of gender equality, as well as providing information for organisations tendering for certain Government contracts.
Resources for public sector staff
The below resources have been developed by the Department of Communities and the Department of Finance to support the participation of WA State Government agencies in the Pilot initiative.
- Procurement Guideline – Gender Equality (please contact Department of Finance)
- Building the case for gender equality in procurement – information for WA public sector agencies
- WA Public Sector Pilot: Gender Equality Clause – Frequently Asked Questions
Additional resources
More information
For more information about participation in the Pilot initiative please contact the Women’s Interests team at the Department of Communities at women@communities.wa.gov.au.
