CALL FOR FOCUS ON GENDER SENSITIVE
PRODUCTS IN WTO NEGOTIATIONS
SYMPOSIUM
ON TRADE, GLOBALISATION AND GENDER INAUGURATED
Expansion of trade
has the potential to create new income and employment opportunities
especially for women and therefore, India believes that products
which are gender sensitive that is, products having greater involvement
of women, should be put on a fast track for greater market access
in the World Trade Organisation ( WTO) negotiations. This is important
as traditional industries often have to bear the brunt of economic
transition. Thus, the negative effects of trade liberalisation
are seen to be the strongest in the informal sector and in subsistence
farming where women tend to predominate with higher gender sensitivity
in sectors such as textiles, garments, handicrafts, marine products
and spices. Further, trade liberalisation in gender sensitive
products (GSPs) should address non-trade barriers including trade
defence measures like anti-dumping, subsidies and safeguard actions.
" Special dispensation such as peace clause against trade
defence measures in textile and clothing following the phase-out
of the Multi Fibre Agreement (MFA) would be of great benefit.
Safety valves by way of special safeguard mechanisms against import
surges on GSPs should also be built in with a view to ensuring
greater certainty in the workplace for women. In fact, the argument
in favour of GSPs being given special dispensation is very similar
to that made out in the case of environmental goods and services,
where environment is seen as a public good", the Minister
of State for Commerce and Industry, Shri S. B. Mookherjee, said
while inaugurating the Symposium on Trade, Globalisation and Gender
here today. Generating female employment and better incomes should
be seen as a public good, the Minister said, adding that it is
among the important Millennium Development goals of the United
Nations.
The two-day Symposium
is being organised by the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) and the United Nations Development Fund for
Women (UNIFEM), in association with the Ministry of Commerce and
Industry, Government of India.
Capacity building
in social infrastructure is needed to enable women to improve
their productivity both in the manufacturing and the rapidly growing
services sector where women are represented in all levels of the
job hierarchy and in this context, market development for GSPs
would be of immense benefit to women, Shri Mookherjee said. Small
and medium enterprises (SMEs) should also be promoted as important
economic agents as they are major employers of women, he stressed.
A book titled "Trade
and Gender: Evidence from South Asia" edited by Dr. Veena
Jha, Coordinator, UNCTAD India, was released by the Minister on
the occasion. The book focusses on three broad issues: key issues
in WTO negotiations that may have gender implications; exploring
opportunities for employment and income generation for women from
the WTO agreements; and examining and mitigating the effects of
WTO rules on women in South Asian countries. Observing that the
gender component relating to commercial diplomacy and its impact
has not yet been given its due, the book, which contains a series
of country papers with studies focussing on sectors having the
maximum impact on livelihood opportunities for women,viz., marine
products, textiles/garments/spices and food processing, observes
that the Cancun ministerial was critical to women as it was centred
around agriculture which employs a large proportion of women in
many countries including India. " Now more than ever before,
women from South Asian developing countries have a unique opportunity
to influence the future trade agenda and to seek economic and
developmental gains from further trade liberalisation. Regional
cooperation can be helpful in this context, as evidenced by the
negotiating strength of MERCOSUR, ASEAN and other such groups.
… There is a need to study the gender effects (of WTO) in a systematic
way particularly with a view to sensitising the trade negotiators.
It is also necessary to provide inputs to national and regional
preparations for the next ministerial conference in Hong Kong",
it says.
