Development and building trade capacity

The Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA Agreement) which has been signed by 54 out of the 55 African countries seeks to create a single continental market for goods and services and facilitate the free movement of people on the continent thereby enhancing the competitiveness of intra-African trade and boosting intra-African trade. This will generate employment and improve the welfare of mostly young men and women on the continent. However whilst the AfCFTA Agreement under Article 3(e) emphasizes that one of the general objectives of the AfCFTA is to promote gender equality experiences in other African regional economic communities have proven that gender and gender equality have not been adequately mainstreamed in implementing free trade areas which has resulted in gender inequalities in international trade and commerce. As a result of this the majority of women have been left marginalized in trade and faced with serious challenges in accessing opportunities created by regional trade agreements.

There is widespread literature that illustrates the link between gender and trade as it can reveal the different roles of women and men in economic activity. Therefore trade policy can be a critical instrument for reducing or reinforcing gender inequalities.

This study looks at digitalization from a gender and development perspective. It investigates which countries and within countries which segments of the population have been able thus far to benefit from the dynamism provided by digitalization especially through e-commerce and technological advances in agriculture. The study points to digital divides between developed and developing countries as well as to other divides linked to gender age and socioeconomic factors that determine individuals’ ability to have access to digital technologies and use them in a productive and beneficial manner. The analysis zooms in on the potential opportunities that digitalization provides to women especially in the developing world and on the obstacles they face to benefit from it. The study makes a distinction between having access to technology using it and using it in a productive manner and highlights the link with gender and other gaps in society and the economy. In the conclusions the study puts forward some suggestions to help digitalization provide shared benefits and leave no one behind.

The increasing trend of the inclusion of gender equality and women’s economic empowerment concerns in the negotiation of trade agreements creates a need to strengthen informed dialogue between the public and private sectors. Trade negotiators are often not aware of the specific barriers faced by women in their various economic roles and as a result face a challenge in promoting provisions that will successfully address these barriers. At the same time the private sector is often not equipped to communicate its needs to a policy audience and identify the ways in which it can inform the negotiation processes with its information and experience. This gap can be bridged with the help of an institutionalized and structured dialogue between public and private and international organizations can provide the required institutional and structural support. The public–private coordination and exchange can also help countries – particularly developing countries – overcome the capacity gap in trade negotiations as they can benefit from the inputs coming from the private sector and experts.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused challenges to public health systems and disruptions in international trade and society. This chapter will highlight the role of regional governance in complementing international governance in responding to global crises and addressing gender issues. The discussion concentrates on the Asia-Pacific region including responses by individual economies and the regional organizations the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The findings show that policy measures responding to the pandemic are progressing dynamically. While policies are primarily concerned with the strength of public health systems and the stability of economic and social situations initially they will focus on answering specific groups’ needs including women’s challenges at a later stage. Besides comparing the actions between ASEAN and APEC indicates the difference in the governance approach to the trade and gender nexus; that is the human rights-based versus the economic and technical cooperation (ECOTECH)-oriented approaches. Accordingly this chapter argues that policy priority and institutional structure are crucial elements behind the diversity of regional governance on gender issues in the Asia Pacific. Finally it suggests that the experiences of Asia-Pacific regional governance facilitate the understanding of dimensional and cross-cutting gender issues and provide insights into international governance of the trade and gender nexus.