The TFA through a gender lens

The Alliance’s tool, the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) through a gender lens, provides development practitioners and implementors with an in-depth analysis of the TFA Section I Articles from a gender perspective. It shows how the TFA, regardless of its supposed gender-blind drafting, provides an opportunity to tackle gendered barriers to international trade.

Women traders are often at a disadvantage to meet the high cost and time demands of complex trading requirements. Gender-based discrimination may also discourage women from trading internationally or make trade more costly.

Trade facilitation reform can help everyone to trade, but particularly women. This is why we have worked with our partners at the World Bank, World Trade Organization and American University to develop this knowledge tool that provides practical guidance on specific gender sensitive actions that initiatives like the Alliance can take to support gender equality when helping developing and least developed countries implement the TFA.

In addition to the actions listed in the document, organisations should continue to follow basic gender mainstreaming practices (inclusive stakeholder mapping, gender analysis, gender indicators, etc.) to gender sensitise their development projects. A gender sensitive implementation of the TFA will support women’s economic empowerment, contribute to greater gender equality, and encourage inclusive economic growth.

Click here to download the document 

(Access the document in French here)

For more information please contact our Knowledge Specialist, Candice White at Candice.White@weforum.org