{"id":265954,"date":"2018-02-19T11:30:18","date_gmt":"2018-02-19T16:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/issues\/make-trade-work-for-women\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T21:59:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T01:59:00","slug":"make-trade-work-for-women","status":"publish","type":"issues","link":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2018\/02\/make-trade-work-for-women\/","title":{"rendered":"Make trade work for women"},"content":{"rendered":"

Critics have not been kind<\/a> to Canada\u2019s efforts to link trade relations to action on gender equality, workers\u2019 rights and environmental sustainability, which have been dismissed as na\u00efve, arrogant or simply a bargaining chip. But recent research on growth and economic opportunities for women <\/a>\u00a0suggests that gender equality gains from trade, as proposed in Canada\u2019s progressive trade agenda<\/a>, are indeed possible, but not guaranteed.<\/p>\n

If women are to benefit more from trade, a range of tailored policy supports are needed \u2014 at global and national levels.<\/p>\n

Mixed results on gender equality <\/strong><\/p>\n

Globally, many more women than men remain outside the labour force, as London School of Economics professor Naila Kabeer has underlined in Policy Options<\/a>. But in several emerging economies, the growth of export opportunities in textile and garments has created jobs for millions of poor women. In Indonesia<\/a>, for example, \u00a0Krisztina Kis-Katos, Janneke Pieters, and\u00a0 Robert Sparrow\u00a0 found that trade liberalization actually reduced gender gaps and helped to enhance women\u2019s work participation and hours of work. In Brazil<\/a>, however, Pieters and Isis Gaddis showed that trade liberalization reduced<\/em> opportunities, particularly among low-skilled groups, and more so for men than for women. Wages of both men and women came under pressure.<\/p>\n

Stephanie Seguino and Elissa Braunstein \u00a0have concluded<\/a> that gender wage gaps have not narrowed substantially in countries known for export-led growth. In exporting powerhouses like China and Vietnam, gender wage gaps have widened. Many of the jobs are precarious and hazardous, and women\u2019s household responsibilities continue unabated alongside their increased labour force participation.<\/p>\n

Given the mixed results that trade has produced for women, what policy measures can make trade work for them and other disadvantaged groups?<\/p>\n

Promoting gender equality in trade agreements<\/strong><\/p>\n

Countries can begin by making gender equality an explicit aim within their trade agreements. The gender chapter in Canada\u2019s trade and investment agreement with Chile<\/a> is an excellent example. It acknowledges that \u201cimproving women\u2019s access to opportunities and removing barriers in their countries enhances their participation in national and international economies.\u201d It anchors its aim in mutually agreed international commitments, and lays out an agenda of shared learning and cooperation in advancing women\u2019s economic empowerment, leadership, financial inclusion and entrepreneurship, socially responsive care policies and the collection of data that are broken down by gender.<\/p>\n

The need for collaboration and improved monitoring of the gender effects of trade policies was also highlighted in the Joint Declaration on Trade and Women\u2019s Economic Empowerment<\/a> signed at the WTO conference in Buenos Aires in December 2017. \u00a0Like the Canada-Chile agreement, it notes the need for gender-disaggregated data and for training by trade officials to strengthen our understanding of trade impacts on women.<\/p>\n

As \u00a0a recent analysis by the UN Conference on Trade and Development<\/a> concludes, the inclusion of gender chapters in recent trade agreements is a step forward, but as yet they contain few nationally specific goals and measures and aren\u2019t covered by dispute settlement mechanisms. They are, however, enhancing cooperation, increasing participation and building capacity among trading partners to work on gender issues.<\/p>\n

Tailoring strategies to the national context <\/strong><\/p>\n

But trade agreements alone cannot ensure gender equality. Accompanying measures, particularly in education, are needed to create level playing fields. Such policies need be country-specific and, because women\u2019s roles vary considerably across economic activities, sector-specific.<\/p>\n

Interventions to support women\u2019s entrepreneurship are needed for women to benefit from trade. An analysis<\/a> of women’s access to work in 38 African countries found that national infrastructure played a determining role in gendered labour market outcomes. \u00a0And, as an analysis by Stephen Klasen from the University of G\u00f6ttingen<\/a> shows, job markets in low-income countries remain highly segregated, so labour market policies have a key role to play in addressing trade\u2019s tendency to reinforce this segregation.<\/p>\n

The WTO-led Aid for Trade initiative<\/a> mobilizes resources to address trade-related constraints of developing countries. Its 2017 global review<\/a> highlights that building in measures to address the gaps women face, such as barriers to connecting them to markets, is critical. Building on the initiative of multinational companies \u2014 as described in a recent report<\/a> by Oxford\u2019s Linda Scott \u2014 also has important potential. Scott reminds us that the economic empowerment of women cannot be achieved without engaging the private sector.<\/p>\n

Toward a progressive trade agenda<\/strong><\/p>\n

Making trade more progressive is both possible and essential. To ensure it benefits women, governments need to take a multi-pronged approach and work with private sector partners. Strategies must be tailored to specific national contexts, strengthening the capacity of local actors to assess gender impacts and relevant measures. The international community has a key role to play in supporting these efforts and the global networks and institutions working to address inequalities in the global economy.<\/p>\n

Photo: Shutterstock, by astudio.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Do you have something to say about the article you just read? Be part of the\u00a0<\/em>Policy Options\u00a0discussion, and send in your own submission.\u00a0Here is a\u00a0<\/em>link<\/em><\/a>\u00a0on how to do it. <\/em>|\u00a0Souhaitez-vous r\u00e9agir \u00e0 cet article ? <\/em>Joignez-vous aux d\u00e9bats d\u2019<\/em>Options politiques\u00a0et soumettez-nous votre texte en suivant ces\u00a0<\/em>directives<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Critics have not been kind to Canada\u2019s efforts to link trade relations to action on gender equality, workers\u2019 rights and environmental sustainability, which have been dismissed as na\u00efve, arrogant or simply a bargaining chip. But recent research on growth and economic opportunities for women \u00a0suggests that gender equality gains from trade, as proposed in Canada\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":256344,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-10-08T01:59:02Z","apple_news_api_id":"a116aab7-c96b-4dd2-8dc7-cb6d53e222fd","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-10-08T01:59:02Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AoRaqt8lrTdKNx8ttU-Ii_Q","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[9362,9360,9372],"tags":[8493],"article-status":[],"irpp-category":[4217,4245,4348],"section":[],"irpp-tag":[],"class_list":["post-265954","issues","type-issues","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economie","category-international","category-recent-stories-fr","tag-gender-inequality-fr","irpp-category-affaires-internationales","irpp-category-economie","irpp-category-egalite-des-genres"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nMake trade work for women<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2018\/02\/make-trade-work-for-women\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Make trade work for women\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Critics have not been kind to Canada\u2019s efforts to link trade relations to action on gender equality, workers\u2019 rights and environmental sustainability, which have been dismissed as na\u00efve, arrogant or simply a bargaining chip. 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