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This briefing note focuses on the specific ways in which current trade liberalisation policy affects women and men differently. Through a selective review of current practices and policies, it tries to differentiate those approaches that are likely to produce gender equality outcomes (where inherent imbalances and obstacles are dismantled or compensated for, resulting in equal benefit for women and men from trade liberalisation) from those that are unlikely to do so.

The brief concludes with a set of questions and a checklist which highlight the issues that project managers should consider in the design and implementation of programmes and projects related to trade liberalisation policy. For example:

are women able to benefit from export training programmes? If there are constraints on women’s participation are they being addressed?
• are women taking advantage of opportunities in trade and marketing, and what do they need in order to strengthen their comparative advantage?
• do the government’s programmes help equip women to enter export production?

Recommendations include:

• government subsidised credit and technical assistance programmes should include components which pay special attention to female farmers and small businesses owned by women
• it is important to mitigate any adverse impacts on women in the import sensitive sectors, for example through appropriate social safety nets, tax credits, and job training
• in the case of land ownership, customary laws which are beneficial to women should be promoted, and new laws and practices should be encouraged to protect women’s property rights.

Summary written in collaboration with BRIDGE and Siyanda

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