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Trade Policy:Gender

In many countries men and women have different roles to play in the economy and in society. International, national and regional trade policy initiatives therefore will have different repercussions on both sexes. In the light of this, the DTI is committed to considering the effects of trade policy on women and men, to ensure that its benefits or costs do not inadvertently cause or accentuate gender inequality.

Increased international trade as a result of liberalisation and globalisation can deliver economic and social improvements, but the benefits are often not distributed equally amongst the citizens of a country. Liberalised trade can open-up export markets and have a positive net impact on job creation. But lower tariffs can affect indigenous industries which are unable to compete against cheaply produced foreign imports. These results are more gender specific in developing countries, where men and women tend to be employed in different sectors to a greater degree than in developed countries.

When making policy, gender characteristics must also be taken into account. Women, who make up 70% of the world’s poor, are often constrained by societal norms in many countries, and have more limited access to education, property and political rights, consequently they are often not readily able to take advantage of new opportunities available in their country. Nevertheless, evidence suggests that countries with higher per capita income have higher gender equality.

What is the Government doing?

The UK Government is committed to reducing overall levels of global poverty and achieving the Millennium Development goals, some of which are gender specific.

The DTI is working to promote the importance of this subject in the Government agenda:

Members of the Europe and World Trade Directorate work in close conjunction with the Women and Equality Unit and with other Government Departments, the European Commission and international organisations in considering various aspects in which trade policy can impact on gender, inputting into international events to raise the profile of the issue.

In order to ensure that gender is mainstreamed into UK/EU trade policy, and to increase the understanding of the gender aspects of trade, DTI, with support from the Women’s National Commission, established a Gender Expert Group on Trade (GEGT) in 2004. Recently, the GEGT Secretariat has been based in the DTI’s Europe and World Trade Directorate promoting more direct relationships with policy makers.

Contact:

Response Unit
Tel: 0207 215 5000
Tel: 020 7215 6740 (Minicom)
Email: dti.enquiries@dti.gsi.gov.uk