World Trade Congress on Gender, Research Session 6: Facilitating Trade for Women

Previous research work evidenced gender gaps in export activities and vulnerabilities of women engaged in trade. But how can the obstacles that prevent women from accessing the same trade opportunities as men are addressed, and which stakeholders should take part in the solution? These questions will be at the heart of this research session chaired by Sangeeta Khorana (Bournemouth University). Researchers will share new findings on the additional burdens imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic on women traders and release firm-level data on the participation of women in export activities to help better understand where women exporters stand. Trade facilitation, voluntary sustainability standards, digitalisation, business innovation and education are central to the solution. A representative from a government will contribute to the discussion, bringing the perspective of a policymaker on how trade policies can better support women exporters.

UNCTAD will present the following paper in the session: 

Facilitating Women’s Economic Empowerment through Trade with Voluntary Sustainability Standards Authored by:

• Niematallah E. A. Elamin, Associate Economic Affairs Officer, UNCTAD
• Santiago Fernandez de Cordoba, Chief UNCTAD VSS Programme 
• Siti Rubiah Lambert, Associate Economic Affairs Officer, UNCTAD
• Rupal Verma, Sustainability Consultant, UNCTAD

The discussion will be moderated by: 

• Sangeeta Khorana, Economist and Professor, Bournemouth University

The session will have the following High-level participants: 

• Vladimir Pimentel, Director, Market Intelligence Directorate, ProDominicana, Centre for Exports and Investments of the Dominican Republic
• H.E. Simon Manley, Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization, United Kingdom

The session will have the following speakers: 

• Heidi Stensland Warren, Senior Private Sector Specialist, World Bank Group
• Ruby Lambert, Associate Economic Affairs Officer, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
• Julia de Oliveira Valeri Sekkel, Economist, Global Affairs Canada