Trade and Employment From Myths to Facts - International Labour ...

Trade and Employment: From Myths to Facts
Figure 5.3: Gender equity policies
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Policy
Post-trade reform problem
In the context of policy space for macroeconomic policies and propoor
international development stance:
• Education and training for women.
• Childcare for low-income women/parents and
infrastructure investments to ease women’s unpaid work.
• Promotion of decent work via:
o Social clauses in bilateral trade agreements.
o ILO’s tripartite process (with emphasis on
union rights, regulation and enforcement).
o Better Work programmes.
o Pedagogical approach to reduce non-labour
costs and spread best practices.
o Investments to reduce non-labour costs of
export factories.
• Reduce gender gaps in assets, credit, technologies and
business services.
o Support small farmers and small/medium
entrepreneurs;
o Develop niche export products
o Support cooperative development.
• Gender-sensitive trade policies.
o Assess gender impacts of trade agreements
(and make adjustments).
o Integrate gender equity goal in trade agreements.
o Revisit pace and extent of trade liberalization.
Employment segregation in export sectors/lower skill occupations
and rise in informal jobs that have:
• Low wages
==> High poverty risk
==> Weak feedback to intrahousehold gender
inequalities
• Slow wage growth
==> Persistence of income poverty
==> Low productivity production structures
==> Negative feedback effects on supply of
educated labour
• Persistent gender wage gaps
==> Persistence of intrahousehold gender
inequalities
• Other working condition problems
==> Negative well-being effects
Decline in viability of small farming (women farmers) and inability
of small/medium enterprises to compete leads to:
• Decline in small farms, small enterprises
• Decline in food security
• Unravelling of the countryside
• Accelerated outmigration.