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ATPC/TFED INCEPTION WORKSHOP ON MAINSTREAMING GENDER INTO

TRADE POLICY: ADDIS ABABA, 21-22 APRIL 2009

Mainstreaming Gender Issues into Trade Makes More Business. A

Practical Framework

By Ms. Ngone DIOPEconomic Affairs Officer, ECA West

Sub-Regional Office

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Gender equality makes more flourished Trade

Trade is an engine of growth because it offers opportunities for the production of goods and services as well new markets;

It offers opportunities to create new production factors;

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Gender equality makes more flourished Trade

cont.) It contributes to wealth and growth

creation;

Creates new jobs thus, contributes to social and economic distribution, to individual empowerment, poverty reduction and indeed development as the later is a process of empowerment and self reliance.

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Gender equality makes more flourished Trade (cont.)

The ILO report suggests that women are the worker –bees in the hives of export-oriented industry, from data entry to light manufacturing and horticulture – occupying 70%-80% of the more than 27 millions job (ILO, World of Work, No. 27, December 1998).

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Gender equality makes more flourished Trade (cont.) Evidences in many countries suggest that

women’s critical role is an impetus to trade e.g. national, regional and international trade.

In Lesotho, women’s employment in the export-oriented textile industry has provided a vital source of revenue to the economy, with exports to the United States growing from US $ 50 millions in 1996 to US $ 456 millions in 2004. (ITC, Geneva, 2006).

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Gender inequality hampers trade’s outcomes

However, the marginalisation of women from trade decision making and policies processes hampers trade’s outcomes given the critical role they play in this sector particularly in agricultural trade related activities and informal business

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Gender inequality hampers trade’s outcomes (cont.) Unless gender issues are systematically

and fully addressed, trade will exacerbate women’s exclusion from the economic sector, exacerbating poverty and postponing the achieving of MDGs.

It has been well documented the costs of gender inequality cut across society ultimately impacting negatively on everyone.

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Gender inequality hampers trade’s outcomes

(cont.) The World Bank report concluded

“women and girls bear the largest and most direct costs of gender inequalities but the costs cut more broadly across society ultimately harming everyone “ (Engendering development through gender equality in rights, resources and voice”, World Bank Policy Research Report, 2001)

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PRACTICAL FRAMEWORK AND TOOLS TO MAINSTREAMING GENDER

ISSUES INTO TRADE – THE HOW -

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MAKING GENDER A CRITICAL DIMENSION OF TRADE AGREEMENTS

AND POLICIES

Gender should not be considered as an adding on, rather, it should be part and parcel of trade agreements, policies, programmes and activities.

This entails strategic and iterative interventions at macro, meso and micro levels.

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STRATEGIC ITERATIVE APPROACH

Macro

Meso

Micro

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APPROACH/METHODOLOGY NB: Important to understand and factor

in the inter-linkages between the 3 levels

Two main approaches (among others) can be used across the three inter-linked levels e.g.

(1) The entitlements approach (2) the Capabilities approach

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APPROACHES/METHODOLOGIES 5CONT;°

The entitlements approach:It focuses on increasing women’s access to inputs and resources that enable them to access markets with the view of increasing their productivity. Ex: a micro credit programme raises women’s entitlements.

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APPROACHES/METHODOLOGIES (cont.)

The Capabilities approach: It consists of raising resources, services

capacities, that women are needed to be empowered to participate in trade negociations, to enter new markets and other strategic activities that are traditionally monopolised by men.

Such approach helps to enhancing women’s skills and interventions at highest levels.

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MACRO LEVEL

Because Trade is an aggregate like all macroeconomic components, mainstream economists assume that trade agreements, policies and mechanisms do not have any differential impacts on women and men.

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MACRO LEVEL (cont.) A comprehensive ex ante analysis of

gender issues of trade agreements must to done.

Women need to participate to and undertake such assessment

Related action: ensure/motivate governments to involve women’s organisations in national, regional trade negociations;

Train women at large and women’s representatives on key trade negotiation aspects:

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MAINSTREAMING GENDER INTO TRADE AGREEMENTS Need to demystify the so called ‘technicality’

of trade by trading women on trade negotiation techniques, enhance women’s communication;

Involve women in trade negotiations preparation;

Ensure that they contribute and their contribution/Inputs are effectively factor in both technical and administrative documents;

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MAINSTREAMING GENDER INTO TRADE AGREEMENTS (cont.)

Laws, rules and regulations and procedures and negociations: regulations on anti-damping, subsidies, unfair trade, support to investigating authorities

Make women’s understand the dispute settlement procedures: WTO rights and obligations, access to legal advisory services.

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MACRO LEVEL Mainstreaming gender into

macroeconomic framework and models that guide trade policies;

Take stock of ECA/ACGDS’ on mainstreaming gender into macroeconomics;

Time use data and satellite accounts to shape conventional macroeconomic model = SAM

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MESO LEVEL - MAKING TRADE POLICIES GENDER RESPONSIVE

PRS: critical roadmap for countries’ policies and intervention, training women and men on engendering MDGs-based PRS can be a strategic entry point to mainstream gender into trade.

The Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) can be used to champion gender in trade policies.

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MESO LEVEL - MAKING TRADE POLICIES GENDER RESPONSIVE

(cont.)

The EIF was developed in 1997 by WTO, ITC, IMF, UNTAC, UNDP, World Bank to deliver greater development dividends to LDCs in the multilateral trading systems.

Tow main objectives have been defined: (i) mainstream trade into the national

development plans such as PRS f least-developed countries,

(ii) assist in the co-ordinated delivery of trade-related technical assistance in response to needs identified by the LDCs

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MESO LEVEL - MAKING TRADE POLICIES GENDER RESPONSIVE

(cont.)

As such, EIF is a strategic building block to mainstream gender into trade policies and programmes.

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MICRO LEVEL Bring women together, make them to Initiate micro-credit, micro finance to

promote their access to financial resources;

Make them initiate programmes on access to critical inputs such selected seeds and extension service to increase the quality of their agricultural products; etc.

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IMPERATIVES Both sex-disaggregated data and

gender responsive data are needed (AGDI, etc) Take stock of existing comprehensive

normative work (ATPC, ITC, WTO, etc) and translate them into harmonised actions and results;

Strategic partnership at national, regional and international levels;

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IMPERATIVES (cont.) Institutionalisation of actions/interventions – to

avoid policy evaporation and sustain gains;

M&E is a must

Important: avoid rhetoric

Put the focus on the HOW

MOTTO - ACT NOW AND NO TIME TO WASTE

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