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Date Added to
Site: 8th December 2005 |
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Long Summary |
| Title |
Gender Mainstreaming in the Multilateral Trading
System |
| Author |
Williams, M. |
| Publication
Date |
January 2003 |
| Publisher |
Commonwealth Secretariat |
| Donor |
Commonwealth Secretariat |
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Long Summary |
This book aims to link gender mainstreaming objectives
with trade policy through providing information on the critical issues
that need to influence policy. Import liberalisation means decreasing
tariffs payable to a national government on goods coming in to the
country. This leads to a drop in government revenue and consequently
cuts in government spending. Such cuts disproportionately affect women,
particularly when they affect social sectors such as healthcare upon
which women are dependent in their role as carers. Another consequence
is a fall in prices of domestically produced goods due to the abundance
of cheap imports which can affect food security and women's work as
producers. Gender relations and inequalities restrict women's access
to markets, training, credit and mobility - and thus their ability
to adapt to new conditions stimulated by changes in trade policy.
There is a lack of integration of gender analysis or consultation
with women's civil society organisations in review mechanisms, dispute
settlements and technical assistance.
Recommendations include: Programmes should be developed which promote
women's access to resources (land and credit) and skills training;
Attention should be paid to provision of services (such as childcare)
to enable women to participate in trade activities; Surveys must be
conducted to determine the nature of the impact of trade policies
on women and gender equality - accompanied by the collection of sex-disaggregated
data; Coherent policy frameworks for gender mainstreaming should be
developed, with regional agreements being used as opportunities for
sharing experiences of gender equality strategies. An independent
focal point should be established to monitor the relationship between
trade agreements and the work of multilateral agencies such as the
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization
(WHO); Better consultation is needed at the national level with civil
society organisations including necessary support for women's participation
in such consultations.
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