Regional trade policymakers called for further sensitisation and education on "gender mainstreaming" in their respective territories, as they came to the end of Day 2 of the Caribbean Development Bank’s seminar on Gender Mainstreaming in Caribbean Trade Policies and Programmes, in Barbados.
Delegates from across the region, looked at recent statistics, challenges and best practices relating to gender equality and mainstreaming in trade and commerce. The day’s presentations allowed the trade experts to assess the situation in their respective territories, in respect of gender mainstreaming, and to identify possible needs and next steps in the way forward.
ITC challenge
Meg Jones, Senior Officer, Millenium Development Goals at the International Trade Centre (ITC), who was lead facilitator for the discussions, charged the participants to use the information they receive during the CDB seminar, to guide their work and decisions going forward in the area of trade in their respective countries.
Jones emphasised the importance of implementing Gender-Sensitive Value Chain Analyses as one way of ensuring gender mainstreaming in trade policy development. This method includes an examination of gender roles at each step required to bring a product/service from conception to consumption. This approach is expected to effectively identify where there are gender inequalities and where investment in training is really needed in the given process.
On the cusp
Denise Noel-De Bique, Gender Equality Advisor at the CDB, said the region is on the cusp of change linked to global debates to inform a new sustainable development agenda. She told the delegates, “This workshop is a signal moment in advancing CDB’s work in building awareness and positioning policy makers for integrating gender in the context of trade. We look forward to continuing to build on this at the national level to further this transformative process.”
The workshop examined research data provided by Professor Miguel Carillo of the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business in Trinidad and Tobago.
Trade/business gender gap
Using the Global Enterpeneurship Monitor (GEM), Professor Carillo disclosed that the most recent international data confirms that there is still a gender gap worldwide in the area of trade and business. He explained that women entrepeneurs struggle at the point of transforming their businesses from the early stages into established companies.
Professor Carillo told the participants that, while women are more inclined to start a business as a means of providing for their families, they showed less confidence than men in their capacity to succeed in business.
The Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC) also called for greater input from a wide range of stakeholders in coming up with effective trade policy.
Shantal Munro-Knight, CPDC’s representative at the seminar, said certain groups in society are still not given the space for effective participation in stakeholder engagement and as a result, the importance of the gender perspective is not always fully understood. According to her, there is lack of coherence between trade and economic policy and social development policy in the region.
“Trade policy cannot be simply (decided and) announced by governments. Policy must be a clear and thought-out process,” Munro Knight said.
Ugandan Model
Using the Ugandan model, the ITC’s Jeanette Sutherland then discussed critical factors needed to ensure a gender-sensitive export strategy.
The four-day seminar, co-hosted by the CDB and ITC, was designed to increase awareness of the value of mainstreaming gender into the Caribbean’s trade and economic development agenda, and to improve participants’ gender mainstreaming skills. The event targeted senior policy makers from the Ministry of Trade and operational staff from other trade support institutions and agencies within CARIFORUM Member States.
The seminar, which started on June 16, was scheduled to end on Thursday.
SOURCE: Caribbean Development Bank
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