Trade
& Gender
In
many countries women and 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:
1.
Members of the Europe and World Trade Directorate work
in close conjunction with the Women and Equality Unit
in the DTI, 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.
2. A Gender Expert Group on Trade (GEGT) has been established,
with the support of the Women’s National Commission (WNC)
and held its inaugural meeting in February 2004. In addition
to DTI officials, the group includes academics, Non-Governmental
Organisations and representatives from other Government
Departments sharing different perspectives on the issue.
The aim of the group is to develop a wide basis of shared
knowledge, to develop a better understanding of the gender
impact of trade policy decisions and also to mainstream
gender issues into trade policy negotiations in the WTO
and elsewhere. The membership of the group will allow
for wide understanding of existing research and so highlight
areas in which new studies might be required. More information
is available on the Women’s National Commission website.
3. A gender representative was present in the UK delegation
to the 5th Ministerial Conference in Cancun in September
2003, the 6th WTO Ministerial Conference in
Hong Kong in December 2005 and at UNCTAD XI in Brazil,
June 2004. Future delegations will often benefit from
such a perspective.
Minutes of previous meetings are available for download
Contact:
Liz
Lalley
Tel: 020 7215 6029
Fax: 020 7215 2235
Email: liz.lalley@dti.gsi.gov.uk
