Gender Impact Analysis of Irresponsible Corporate Behaviour in Regional Trade and Value Chains

International trade has been said to carry immense economic growth opportunities through employment, increased access to income and purchasing power. International trade can be a useful tool to foster economic growth, and job creation as producers begin to gain from economies of scale, and specialisation, and consumers can access goods at better prices due to competition and market self-correction.

International trade can enhance efficiency and support a transition from the production of raw materials to the production of semi-processed and finished goods through industrialisation and the use of related technologies, leading to improved quality of both goods and services for purposes of trade as business adjust in the pursuit of and as a result of comparative advantage. International trade can also facilitate or support regional integration, and through cross-border value chains bring smaller actors onboard to participate in the global economy. However, trade has historically been regulated as though it were gender-neutral, yet we know now that trade affects and includes women differently from men.

The research analysis is available in ENGLISH and FRENCH