GENDER AUDIT IN VALUE STREAM MANAGEMENT OF SMES

Abstract

Taking into account the importance of gender equality issues in managing the flow of value, the relevance of the research topic was determined and the issue of gender audit in managing the flow of value of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) was considered. The article is aimed at determining the place of gender audit in managing the flow of value of SMEs and the formation of a common unified form of gender audit, which will provide an opportunity to obtain internal preliminary results for further study. It is determined that the issue of the lack of a unified format of gender audit for its conduct within the framework of SMEs as part of the management of the flow of value is unresolved. This becomes especially relevant under martial law, when SMEs should not only "survive" in the market, but also create conditions for further development and scaling. The article defines the category "gender audit," which is characterized as a tool and process that allows to assess the level of effectiveness of institutionalization of the gender approach in entrepreneurship, programs, organizational structures and processes. The article substantiates the need for a gender audit of SMEs because of the opportunity to identify potential obstacles to gender equality at all stages of managing the flow of value. There is evidence that achieving gender equality in managing the value flow of SMEs can bring a number of benefits, such as improved innovation, increased productivity, improved customer satisfaction, and reduced risks. The problems and obstacles that may arise in SMEs when conducting a gender audit within the framework of value stream management have been identified, and a solution has been proposed to prevent or minimize these problems. The main blocks of conducting a gender audit with an emphasis on potential issues for its formation have been identified. The structure of gender audit (which consists of 5 main blocks of research) is proposed as part of the management of the flow of value with an emphasis on the processing and design of the results, which will allow SMEs to obtain internal preliminary results for further study.