Gender and trade

This is the first report which draws on the work submitted by the research group members across all three projects. It compares and contrasts the situation in the countries in the research, identifying key themes which emerge from the reports, locating them within a wider analysis of labour market structuring and varieties of patriarchal, racialised and diverse cultural frameworks. Statistical data and country reports were produced variously from colleagues about Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ghana, South Korea, Nigeria, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, UK and Zimbabwe.

This paper focuses only on two aspects of the global economy that particularly illuminate women’s position and issues related to gender equality: first, global supply chains and production networks that reflect the current nature and pattern of international trade and investment; and second, the international migration of care services workers. These have an impact on labour markets and on women and men in both the South and the North, in developing and developed countries. For example, there is widespread concern in developed countries that trade with low-wage countries and labour migration are responsible for job losses and growing wage inequality in developed countries. However, this paper gives particular attention to issues in developing countries.

The first guidance note discusses why gender matters for trade facilitation. It gives examples of projects that have integrated the gender dimension and what that has meant for project outcomes. In addition, the note provides practical advice and templates on how gender can be better integrated into these types of projects. Some of the key suggestions emerging from the guidance noteâ” such as the use of gender disaggregated data” are valid for many types of projects. Other suggestions, however, are more specific to trade facilitation projects. The establishment of mechanisms to support cooperation amongst female traders in pooling goods and accessing better and cheaper logistics services serves as one such example. In this respect, this guidance note provides concrete suggestions for integrating gender dimensions into these projects without cumbersome procedures and/or resource-intensive changes to typical trade facilitation projects.

The purpose of this Resource Paper is to present the collective views of the UN system on the links between gender equality and trade policy. The Paper provides a summary overview of key questions, concerns and policy recommendations while providing reference to related UN resolutions, UN official documentation, publications and websites. The Resource Paper is organized as follows: Section2 briefly reviews the evolution of the international debate on globalization, trade liberalization and their impacts on equitable development, in the context of the United Nations Development agenda as the overarching framework for development. Section3 dwells upon the relevance of integrating ‐ or mainstreaming ‐ gender perspectives in trade policy and discusses the implications of women's economic empowerment on trade and economic growth. Sections 4 analyzes, through a gender lens, some commonly observed impacts of international trade on labour markets and small businesses. Section5 addresses the potential of labour mobility as a tool for women's empowerment in the context of international migration and international trade in services. Section6 further explains the interrelationships between trade policy and gender equality in agriculture. Section7 reflects upon the impact of the financial and economic crisis on women and presents data and examples of policies implemented by governments to address it. Section 8 reviews good practices in incorporating gender considerations in trade policy and trade agreements. Finally Section9 presents a non‐exhaustive list of actions undertaken by the UN system to support the process of making trade policy more responsive to the specific needs of women and instrumental to gender equality and women's empowerment.

This paper intends to inform discussions about gender issues and labour in the ethical trade (ETI) in the UK