Transparency and Gender: The Impact of Electronic Purchases on Women-Led SMEs' Access to Public Tenders

In recent years, digital government initiatives in public procurement have become increasingly popular among policymakers, due to the efficiencies and transparency gains they bring about. However, these initiatives can also have indirect effects on other variables. This document provides evidence on the impact of the electronic procurement platform COMPR.AR on the participation of women entrepreneurs in public tenders in Argentina. The results show that, depending on the estimation model used, the COMPR.AR platform increased the probability of a contract being awarded to a woman-led company by 2.48% to 4.22%. This study contributes to the specialized literature by providing causal evidence of how digital government reforms can have a significant effect in promoting women's participation in public procurement.