Gender and trade

This short analysis demonstrates, international trade, as it is currently formulated and practiced, does not adequately take into account women’s experiences and has resulted in one-sided agreements neglect the gendered aspects of the economy and society. Ensuring trade policy does not affect women adversely is sound public policy that the Southern African region must engage in to foster effective development. This inclusive development can only be realised once gender analysis is applied to trade policy.

The research involved the following steps: Review of literature on the status of gender mainstreaming of the trade policies of the EAC and its Partner States. - Interview of officials from the EAC Secretariat and Ministries responsible for trade in the Partner States as well as Public and Private Sector trade Organisations/institutions such as Chambers of Commerce, Export Promotion Councils and Private Sector Federations. - Selection of a gender and policy analysis model and adapting it to fit a trade-focused gender analysis framework to guide the overall analysis. The report is organized as follows: Part I gives an introduction to the study, with analysis of gendered constraints to trade. Part II looks at the level of gender responsiveness of the trade policy instruments; Part III provides conclusions and recommendations on the way forward.

This report identifies best practices and provides policy guidance on how public policy can promote the participation of women entrepreneurs, women producers and women-led export firms in accessing market opportunities through trade agreements. Specifically, the report: provides a brief overview of the evidence on gender and trade liberalization; identifies key obstacles that reduce the participation of women entrepreneurs, women producers and women-led export firms in accessing the market opportunities of free trade agreements; sets out global, regional and bilateral, best practices in promoting the participation of women entrepreneurs, women producers and women-led export firms in accessing the market opportunities of free trade agreements; and provides policy guidance to stakeholders in Peru and Colombia to further this agenda.

This paper reviews knowledge on how women and men may be affected differently by trade rules through their impacts on labour markets, production structures, prices and government revenues. It identifies some of the economic and political reasons for governments to negotiate RTAs, and some of the advantages and disadvantages that RTAs may present for small businesses in particular. There is growing interest in some organizations to “engender” trade discussions. The paper discusses examples from various trade agreements and recent initiatives aimed at providing trade officials with the information they need to integrate gender issues into trade negotiations. The paper identifies gender considerations in some trade issues of importance to women, including agriculture, services, government procurement, handicrafts and intellectual property, and describes trade promotion initiatives in some APEC economies that target women. The paper offers several suggestions to build knowledge and experience in APEC to ensure that trade liberalization contributes to prosperity for all.

The report aims to generate a set of recommendations to inform future trade negotiations and trade facilitation. This assignment has three components as stated in the terms of reference. They are: A gender audit of Africa's negotiating position in trade agreements (EPAs, WTO, etc.); A review of gender and trade facilitation in Africa; and The development of a generic template with policy recommendations to address the gender gaps identified in these reviews, and inform future trade negotiations and trade facilitation.