Dominican Republic's ProCompetencia Commits to Gender‑Equality Seal for Public Sector

The National Competition Defense Commission (ProCompetencia) signed a commitment letter to begin the process of obtaining the "Sello Igualando RD" certification for the public sector. The seal is an initiative of the Dominican Ministry of Women, supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), aimed at strengthening substantive gender equality within state institutions.

ProCompetencia President María Elena Vásquez Taveras said the move will help identify market barriers that disproportionately affect women, citing a 2025 study on health risk administrators that showed lower female participation in health coverage. The certification process will address five dimensions—gender‑focused planning, capacity building, creation of supportive environments, alliance consolidation, and generation of measurable results—while providing technical assistance from the Ministry of Women and UNDP. The effort is expected to improve market access for women‑led micro, small and medium enterprises, which account for 52.6% of such businesses in the country.