Women’s economic empowerment

    Overview

    90% of the world’s businesses and more than half of global employment are concentrated in micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, yet women run less than one-third of all small businesses.

    ITC’s SheTrades Initiative targets all stakeholders across the trade and business ecosystem to provide women entrepreneurs and producers with access to key knowledge, resources, and networks. We also support policymakers on inclusive policy reforms, and leverage public and private sector partnerships to amplify the impact of our work.

    We recognize that all women have the right to a decent income, employment, fair working conditions, and a choice and voice in shaping their economic futures and we are working towards these goals. This is why the SheTrades Initiative was established in 2015: to foster the right conditions and capacities for every woman, everywhere, to realise their full economic potential.

    Mainstreaming gender into policies and data

    SheTrades works at the multilateral, regional, and national levels to ensure that all women's needs and interests are considered, acted upon, and translated into results on the ground.

    Promoting sustainable and inclusive trade requires political will, better data on trade and gender, and tailored policy measures that address the priorities and needs of women in each country.

    Learn more about the IGC Trade Impact Group and the ISO IWA 34.

    Multilateral Trade and Gender Agenda
    Technical Support For Domestic Policy Reforms
    Regional-Level Support on the AfCFTA
    1. Developing a Gender Lens for the WTO

    Mainstreaming gender into the heart of the multilateral trading system, such as the World Trade Organization, can pave the way to trade agreements, negotiations, and committees that respond to the needs and challenges faced by women.

    In 2022 SheTrade is currently implementing an EU-funded project that is aimed at developing a gender-lens framework for the WTO. This framework will be applied to four selected topics: trade facilitation, e-commerce, investment facilitation, and government procurement.

    1. Leverage The International Gender Champions Trade Impact Group

    Established in 2016, the Trade Impact Group (TIG) is one of the six impact groups under the auspices of the International Gender Champions. It aims to mobilize the Geneva community to leverage trade to achieve of gender equality.

    In 2017, the TIG put the trade and gender agenda on the table by securing support from 127 WTO members and observers from the Buenos Aires declaration. This later proved the way for the establishment of the WTO Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender in 2020.

    The TIG is currently implementing its 2022-2023 work plan. A key part of this work plan is the EU-funded public-private partnership (PPP) initiative that seeks to promote of peer-to-peer learning and establishment of women-specific PPPs.

    1. Harmonizing Terminology On Women's Entrepreneurship

    The current landscape on terminology pertaining to women's entrepreneurship remains fragmented: countries and institutions across the world use different definitions to refer to the same term and different terms to refer to similar concepts. In some cases, no definitions exist.

    This is why ITC, the Swedish Institute for Standards and International Organization of Standardization, launched the ISO International Workshop Agreement (IWA) 34: 2021 Women's entrepreneurship - key definitions and general criteria in 2021 to develop a set of universally agreed-upon definitions on women's entrepreneurship.

    The SheTrades initiative provides countries with technical assistance for gender-responsive policy reforms to ensure that all genders benefit equally from trade. Based on well-tested methodologies and toolkits, SheTrades adapts its services to country priorities and constraints.

     Examples of policy topics covered include:

    • Access to finance regulations for women;
    • Gender-responsive public procurement;
    • Advocacy for COVID-19 economic stimulus package for women-led businesses and women in tourism;
    • Gender-mainstreaming into the AfCFTA National Implementation Strategy, National Export Development Strategy, National Export Strategy, Trade Facilitation Reform Agenda, National Trade Policy, and Cooperatives Policy;
    • Definition of women-owned/led businesses;
    • MSME Policy Gender-responsive Implementation Plan.

    There is a historic opportunity for women in the African continent. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which spans 54 African countries, has the potential to support a market of over 1 billion people, contribute more than 3 trillion US Dollars to global GDP,  and substantially increase Africa's share of global trade.

    The AfCFTA can open significant opportunities for women entrepreneurs and producers. However, a 2020 ITC survey of 70 African women's business associations found that 70% of them have not been meaningfully involved in negotiations, and their members are not taking advantage of existing regional trade agreements.

    To make the AfCFTA work for women entrepreneurs and producers, SheTrades provides African women and their business associations with the platform, capacity building, and resources critical for their participation in and shaping of the AfCFTA.

    Resources

    ITC contact

    Senior Programme Officer
    Judith
    Fessehaie
    Email
    jfessehaie [at] intracen.org