An event titled “A joint conversation on women’s economic empowerment”, hosted by the WTO and the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) on 26 March, provided a platform to showcase recent advances and initiatives aimed at addressing gender inequality in trade and fostering women’s empowerment.
Speakers at the event presented recent developments concerning trade and gender. The WTO's Trade and Gender Office highlighted three member-led outcomes on trade and gender from the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference, marking a significant milestone in advancing gender-responsive policies.
Anoush der Boghossian, the Head of the WTO's Trade and Gender Office, outlined her recent research findings, published in 2023, on the links between trade and gender and social issues, as well as how trade policies support women's decent work.
She also highlighted the key features of the Office's work programme for 2024-25, stressing the expansion of the WTO's technical assistance to government officials and announcing a forthcoming training course on trade and gender, scheduled for 15-18 April 2024.
The EIF spotlighted outcomes and lessons learned from its “Empower Women, Power Trade” initiative, which aims to transform the economic lives of women in least developed countries (LDCs) through targeted trade-related projects.
A comprehensive review of the initiative underscored the importance of gender-responsive policies, support for women in key sectors, and collaboration to advance gender equality in trade.