Session summary
Concurrent interactive sessions: TRADE CROSS-CUTTING OPPORTUNITIES - empowering women, powering trade
11 SEPTEMBER 2010, 13:30 – 15:00
SPEAKERS
- Mrs. Marlene Malahoo Forte, Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade, Jamaica
- Prof. Li Shirong, Deputy Director-General, Chongqing Foreign Trade & Economic Relations Commission
- Mrs. Archana Bhatnagar, President, Haylide Chemicals, India
- Mrs. Monique Ward, Regional Procurement Director, China/Asia, Accenture
- Mr. Madhav Lal, Development Commissioner, Ministry of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, India
MODERATOR
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SUMMARY
The second breakout session focused on the role of women entrepreneurs. Senator Malahoo Forte said that although there was an underlying assumption that empowering women was good for trade, nonetheless it did not happen very much.
Women owned just 1% of the world’s companies and accounted for 70% of the world’s poor. They were discriminated against in many areas, including access to loans and property, although the impact of empowering women in developing countries was important because they reinvested more in the community than men.
There was a need to secure women’s rights in a legal framework covering paid maternity leave, property ownership, spousal rights and protection from sexual violence.
Mr. Lal said the SME sector in India accounted for 80% of the country’s GDP, with 60 million people employed producing 60% of manufacturing output and 40% of total exports. Women-owned SMEs generated more than 10 million jobs, 18% of the total, while accounting for only 8% of companies: they were thus employment-intensive.
Although traditionally women entrepreneurs had focused on agro and food processing, textiles and garments, gems and jewellery, more recently they had moved into IT, pharmaceutical and chemical industries and eco-technologies.
A key challenge for the government was addressing information asymmetries and helping firms to move up the value chain: NGOs were crucial in the distribution of support services to these companies, he said.
He added that it was important for the voice of women entrepreneurs to be heard at the highest policy-making levels, and it was therefore necessary to promote the formation of strategic alliances and associations of women entrepreneurs.
Professor Li said that in Chongqing a significant increase in the involvement of women in government activities had been achieved following a process of identifying differences, and hence complementarities and areas of common interest, which was critical to promotion of women-owned companies.
She said national and international exchanges of experiences and practices in the development of women-owned enterprises was important, to identify best practices, leverage experience and optimize use of resources.
Ms. Bhatnagar said women did two-thirds of the world’s work but earned only one-tenth of the profits: there was a problem of equality. In turn women spent 9 out of every 10 dollars they earned on their families, equally on male and female children, something men did not do.
She noted that in India women tended to have only one chance at making a success of their business because of the social stigma that deterred them from trying again in the case of failure. Social standards, customs and traditions were a strong deterrent to women becoming entrepreneurs.
Ms. Ward said that bringing women into the supply chain benefited everyone and did not add to costs. In particular it benefited communities and children. Corporations were missing out if they did not include women in their procurement.
She said her company, Accenture, was working to give visibility to women in the supply chain and promoting equality on procurement opportunities.