Five Key Elements for a Gender Lens in Trade

This research paper by the International Institute for Sustainable Development outlines five essential elements for establishing a 'gender lens' in international trade policy. It discusses the ongoing efforts of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender (IWG) to integrate gender equality and women's economic empowerment into trade rules, arguing that a comprehensive framework is necessary to ensure trade policies support the Sustainable Development Goals and human rights commitments.

• The author argues that a distinction must be made between gender equality and women's economic empowerment, noting that the latter is a narrower objective. Gender equality encompasses the "equal rights, responsibilities, and opportunities of women, men, girls, and boys," while empowerment focuses on women's ability to "exercise control and have options and choices over the practical and strategic decisions that shape their lives and their futures."
• To accurately assess the impact of trade rules, policy-makers must recognize women's multiple economic roles, including their roles as "workers, entrepreneurs, producers, traders, consumers, carers, decision makers, rights-holders, users of public services, and taxpayers."
• A comprehensive analysis of the trade-gender relationship must consider two directions: how trade rules produce gendered distributional outcomes, and how gender inequalities affect trade strategies. The latter includes the risk that "the relatively cheaper cost of women’s labour" may be used as a "competitive advantage in international trade."
• Gender inequalities in economic analysis should be categorized into three primary domains: capabilities (basic human abilities like health and knowledge), access to resources and opportunities (economic assets and political decision making), and security (vulnerability to violence or conflict).
• The proposed gender lens analytical framework should be applied across four distinct stages of a trade agreement: the negotiation process (including ex ante gender impact assessments), the final text of the agreement, the implementation and enforcement mechanisms, and complementary laws and programs.
• The WTO's Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender (IWG), established after the 2017 Buenos Aires Declaration, operates across four pillars: sharing best practices on removing trade barriers, reviewing gender-related research, clarifying the "gender lens," and contributing to the Aid-for-Trade Work Programme.
• As of March 1, 2022, 123 WTO members had joined a Ministerial Declaration on trade, gender equality, and women’s economic empowerment. Recent supporters include China, the United States, Bahrain, Jordan, Panama, and Macao.

APA

Dommen,, C. (2022). Five Key Elements for a Gender Lens in Trade. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/five-key-elements-gender-lens-trade

Chicago

Dommen,, Caroline. Five Key Elements for a Gender Lens in Trade. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2022. https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/five-key-elements-gender-lens-trade.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Dommen, |first1=Caroline |title=Five Key Elements for a Gender Lens in Trade |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=14 March 2022 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/five-key-elements-gender-lens-trade |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dommen2022five, author = {Dommen,, Caroline}, title = {{Five Key Elements for a Gender Lens in Trade}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2022}, month = mar, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/five-key-elements-gender-lens-trade}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }