Gender Issues in the Multilateral Trading System

Citation:

Williams, Mariama. 2012. “Gender Issues in the Multilateral Trading System.” In The Feminist Economics of Trade, edited by Irene van Staveren, Diane Elson, Caren Grown, and Nilüfer Çagatay, 295-309. New York: Routledge.

Author: Mariama Williams

Annotation:

Summary:
"The most comprehensive trade agreements are negotiated globally through the World Trade Organization (WTO). The gender dimensions of some key agreements are discussed in Chapter 14, “Gender issues in the multilateral trading system” by Mariama Williams. Particular attention is paid to the Agreement on Agriculture, the General Agreement on Trade in Services, and the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement. Williams shows how these Agreements are implicated in undermining the livelihoods of women self-employed farmers in poor countries and have the potential to jeopardize poor women’s health and their ability to ensure good health for their families. The chapter concludes with suggestions on how gender inequality can be addressed in some of the measures that are allowable under the WTO rules for mitigating adverse effects of trade liberalization. It also makes clear that a gender-equitable multilateral trading system requires a different set of core principles" (Elson, Grown & van Staveren 2012, 8).

Topics: Agriculture, Economies, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Health, International Organizations, Livelihoods

Year: 2012