BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:unctad.org BEGIN:VEVENT UID:6a73c47e4fcef DTSTART:20260309T130000Z SEQUENCE:0 TRANSP:OPAQUE DTEND:20260309T143000Z LOCATION:\, SUMMARY:International Women’s Day: Critical minerals\, critical choices CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Trade policy has historically shaped development during global resource booms\, from coal in the Industrial Revolution to oil in the twen tieth century\, and earlier cycles in copper and rubber. Each reconfigured trade patterns\, market access\, and economic power. Today\, critical min erals -lithium\, copper\, nickel\, cobalt\, graphite- and rare earths are playing a similar role. As core inputs to the energy and digital transitio ns\, they are reshaping trade regimes\, standards\, and value chains\, cre ating new opportunities and challenges for developing economies to access export diversification and integration into regional and global value chai ns.Trade regimes\, however\, are not gender-neutral. Past shifts driven by trade liberalization\, structural adjustment\, and technological change h ave consistently determined who has access to markets\, finance\, technolo gy\, and standards certification\, to name a few\, and who remains exclude d. Gender-responsive trade provisions cannot be optional add-ons\; they di rectly influence export performance\, competitiveness\, and long-term deve lopment outcomes.As countries negotiate tariffs\, non-tariff measures\, in vestment provisions\, standards\, and export strategies for critical miner als\, these rules will shape development paths for decades. Without intent ional design to ensure trade policies are gender-responsive\, women risk e xclusion from higher-value\, trade-intensive segments of critical mineral value chains\, including processing\, recycling\, logistics\, certificatio n\, and digital traceability\, among others. With the right mix of trade a nd investment\, policies\, critical minerals can support inclusive\, trade -led structural transformation.Against this backdrop\, UNCTAD is convening an online International Women’s Day event.ObjectiveThis International W omen’s Day event aims to address a central question: How can internation al trade frameworks be leveraged to close gender gaps in critical mineral value chains rather than reinforce them?By bringing together policymakers\ , regional organizations\, civil society\, and the private sector\, the di scussion will identify practical policy entry points to ensure women can a ccess higher-value\, better-paid segments of critical mineral supply chain s and benefit from trade-led structural transformation.Structure of the ev ent:Online Webinar/ Panel discussion for 90 minutes\, including Q and A.Sp eakersChair: H.E. Ms. Sofia Boza\, Ambassador of Chile to the WTOOpening R emarks: Pedro Manuel Moreno\, Deputy Secretary-General\, UN Trade and Deve lopment (UNCTAD)Panelists:Gül Ünal\, Chief\, Trade\, Gender and Developm ent Programme\, Division on International Trade and Commodities\, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)Marit Kitaw\, Economic Affairs Officer\, Climate Change\, Food Security and Natural Resources Division\, Economic Commissio n for Africa (UNECA) &\; Former Interim Director of the African Mineral s Development Center (African Union)Ege Tekinbas\, Senior Policy Advisor\, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion\, Intergovernmental Forum on Mining\ , Minerals\, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF)Erica Levenson\, Mana ger\, Research and Programs\, Regions Refocus<\;p>\;Trade policy has h istorically shaped development during global resource booms\, from coal in the Industrial Revolution to oil in the twentieth century\, and earlier c ycles in copper and rubber. Each reconfigured trade patterns\, market acce ss\, and economic power. Today\, critical minerals -lithium\, copper\, nic kel\, cobalt\, graphite- and rare earths are playing a similar role. As co re inputs to the energy and digital transitions\, they are reshaping trade regimes\, standards\, and value chains\, creating new opportunities and c hallenges for developing economies to access export diversification and in tegration into regional and global value chains.<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;Tra de regimes\, however\, are not gender-neutral. Past shifts driven by trade liberalization\, structural adjustment\, and technological change have co nsistently determined who has access to markets\, finance\, technology\, a nd standards certification\, to name a few\, and who remains excluded. Gen der-responsive trade provisions cannot be optional add-ons\; they directly influence export performance\, competitiveness\, and long-term developmen t outcomes.<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;As countries negotiate tariffs\, non-tar iff measures\, investment provisions\, standards\, and export strategies f or critical minerals\, these rules will shape development paths for decade s. Without intentional design to ensure trade policies are gender-responsi ve\, women risk exclusion from higher-value\, trade-intensive segments of critical mineral value chains\, including processing\, recycling\, logisti cs\, certification\, and digital traceability\, among others. With the rig ht mix of trade and investment\, policies\, critical minerals can support inclusive\, trade-led structural transformation.<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;Aga inst this backdrop\, UNCTAD is convening an online International Women’s Day event.<\;/p>\;<\;h4>\;Objective<\;/h4>\;<\;p>\;This I nternational Women’s Day event aims to address a central question: <\; strong>\;How can international trade frameworks be leveraged to close ge nder gaps in critical mineral value chains rather than reinforce them?<\ ;/strong>\;<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;By bringing together policymakers\, re gional organizations\, civil society\, and the private sector\, the discus sion will identify practical policy entry points to ensure women can acces s higher-value\, better-paid segments of critical mineral supply chains an d benefit from trade-led structural transformation.<\;/p>\;<\;h4>\ ;Structure of the event:<\;/h4>\;<\;p>\;Online Webinar/ Panel disc ussion for 90 minutes\, including Q and A.<\;/p>\;<\;h4>\;Speakers <\;/h4>\;<\;p>\;Chair: <\;strong>\;H.E. Ms. Sofia Boza<\;/st rong>\;\, Ambassador of Chile to the WTO<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;Opening R emarks<\;strong>\;: Pedro Manuel Moreno\, <\;/strong>\;Deputy Secr etary-General\, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)<\;/p>\;<\;h3>\;P anelists:<\;/h3>\;<\;ul>\;<\;li data-list-item-id="\;eae26bc 1c0fda32815c3bae9628a03826\n\nView meeting on unctad.org\nhttps://unctad.o rg/node/51430 DTSTAMP:20260805T231718Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR