The participation of women in the economy and foreign trade is a task of the first order to face the inequalities in our society. Trading for women has traditionally been a growth engine and has been located above the growth rate of world production.
Integrating more women into the flows of world trade is an excellent investment and a way to inject dynamism into international markets. They offer better opportunities for women than the traditional economy, for example, in the services sector since many of the intermediaries and tasks of the global value chains are in this sector, which employs the majority of women.
- It is crucial to dedicate specific policies with a gender approach that allow women entrepreneurs access to commercial credit, establish single windows to carry out bureaucratic procedures related to their business activity, promote policies that reduce the digital divide and train women entrepreneurs in the opportunities offered. International trade, to name a few.
- In Latin America, the Pacific Alliance has highlighted the gender component and has developed an integrating platform to contribute to the strengthening of competitiveness, innovation and internationalization through the empowerment of women entrepreneurs. In the framework of the PA, the Women of the Pacific initiative was conceived, which seeks to train women, develop contact networks, empower them, and provide accompaniment and visibility. It also offers training in technical areas and promotes internationalization through commercial missions.
- The WTO declaration urges countries to make trade policies take into account gender issues by sharing information on women’s participation through reports, collecting data disaggregated by gender and exchanging good practices to analyze policies commercial and its effect.
- The trade agreement between Chile and Uruguay signed on October 4, 2016 is a pioneering example in the inclusion of a chapter on Gender and Trade
- From the business sector, initiatives have also been developed to promote competitiveness and innovation, encouraging more women entrepreneurs to participate in supply chains both locally and in world markets. Initiatives such as WE Connect International (WECI), a non-profit organization, seek to increase the participation of women’s companies in the supply chains of multinational companies in order to make them inclusive and diverse. Public policies have an essential role to play in advancing the eradication of inequalities in access to the opportunities and benefits of international trade and improving the conditions for the development and strengthening of women’s businesses.
