Gender and trade : Policy research dialogue on mainstreaming gender into trade policies

This document expresses the views of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official policy of Status of Women Canada or the Government of Canada. [...] The objectives of the workshop were to present research findings and policy recommendations of the research papers published under the theme Trade Agreements and Women; to encourage bringing gender perspective into trade policy development; to contribute to a dialogue between women’s and equality seeking organizations and trade policy makers; and to create a broader knowledge base, and build the c [...] The analysis of the workshop evaluation demonstrated that the participants found this event informative and useful for their work, increasing their understanding of the issue, and useful for raising further awareness of the importance of mainstreaming gender into trade policies. [...] This was followed by an open discussion of several critical issues including what the research tells us about the breadth, depth and scope of our understanding of women, gender and trade, the relationship between research, policy processes and bureaucracy, and the broader role of research in community education and advocacy capacity building. [...] First, research findings tend to counter the views that the economic growth arising from increased trade liberalization will help to alleviate poverty and that the gains will benefit all, including the poor, the vulnerable and the marginalized.