Recommendations
Group discussions over three consecutive days generated many ideas and suggestions for how to better address issues related to gender, poverty alleviation and global trading practices at global, regional and national levels. These have been divided into five broad categories of recommendations:
A. General Recommendations
- This seminar, and the preparatory research that went into it, has provided ample evidence of the direct and indirect links between global trading practices and women's lives and livelihoods. Precisely because South Asian women predominate in sectors that are very sensitive to changes in the global trade arena, notably textiles and agriculture, it is most likely that the general move toward more external trade will have a considerable impact on the lives of women in this region. While analyzing these trends, it is important to take a holistic view and assess how trade expansion relates to women in their multiple roles as producers, providers of labour, consumers or social reproducers.
- · It is important to analyze global trade issues from different perspectives. On the one hand, trade expansion can cause displacement, unemployment and new hardship. Those sectors likely to suffer most from international competition should therefore be targeted for public support and financial and technical assistance. On the other hand, many new income and employment opportunities will emerge with liberalization. Here, efforts should be made to identify such potential growth areas and women should be provided with the necessary skills, training, information and contacts to be able to take full advantage of these openings.
- Since most women operate within the informal sector, it is absolutely necessary to extend the analysis of globalization and trade liberalization to this sector as well. Within this sector, handloom and handicraft industries need particular attention.
- Women in South Asia face similar constraints and could stand to gain tremendously from increasing exchange and cooperation among themselves and their countries. Closer collaboration and joint actions by women at the grassroots level could build the foundation for a more united region in the future. Furthermore, South-South trade and economic cooperation should be intensified and expanded. Closer interaction between various women's groups around the world could lead the way.
- It is of fundamental importance that women are better represented in various trade policy-making fora and bodies, at all levels, in order to voice women's needs and concerns.
- For the larger countries in the region, it is important to examine how new trade policies are translated at the state level.
- Open borders and capital mobility have created a growing mobile female workforce within and from South Asia. This trend has to be recognized and the socio-economic problems associated with it addressed by each government.
- In the midst of deregulation trends and the downsizing of governments, there will be a strong need for public support at the micro-level in order to advance women's economic empowerment.
- UNIFEM plays an important role as a catalyst and facilitator in bringing forward new and emerging issues of concern to women in the region. Each country should build upon such initiatives and translate regional recommendations and ideas emerging from these into national agendas for action.
- Women's groups in South Asia should ensure that the issue of global trade policies is brought to the forefront in the national preparations for the World's Conference for Women in Beijing. Similarly, this and parallel UNIFEM events foreseen for other regions should all be building blocks for bringing this issue to the audience at Beijing.
- All multilateral agencies dealing with the promotion of economic development, such as UNIDO, ITC, UNCTAD, the Development Banks and FAO, should work closely together and develop comprehensive, uniform programmes that support women entrepreneurs and traders in South Asia. UNIFEM should also cooperate with these agencies to ensure that the gender dimension is adequately incorporated into all of their activities.
- Lessons learnt and issues highlighted in this seminar should be brought to similar UNIFEM events in other regions. The objective would be to share information and to build foundations for assessing globalization and trade liberalization from a genuine women's perspective and subsequently develop a unified response to these trends as seen by the global women's movement.
B. Research and Information
- Produce gender-disaggregated data at all levels and for all sectors of society in a continuous and systematic fashion. Such information would demonstrate women's contributions to economic development and enable a better assessment of the gender specific impact of global changes. Guidelines should be developed for national data-generating agencies instructing them how to break down statistics by gender.
- Conduct surveys and gather statistics about women's income and employment status and how these have been affected by recent economic restructuring, trade liberalization and the new GATT agreements.
- Undertake sectoral case studies (and meso-analyses) to document how the new GATT agreements and trade liberalization impact on women operating within specific sectors that are particularly sensitive to international competition and changes in the global trading system.
- Study the impact of increased trade in certain raw materials and the effect this has on small-scale producers dependent on such inputs for economic survival.
- Undertake a cross-national study of the handloom sector — a major exporter for the region and employer for women — and assess how the new GATT agreements and trade liberalization affect the current situation and future prospects for handloom weavers in South Asia.
- Study the experience gained from other regions, particularly Latin America and Africa, and learn from them how increased globalization and trade liberalization have affected women in different situations.
- Develop educational and informative material to advise women about new trade policies and economic reforms, and how they relate to their needs and concerns.
- Establish regional and national information/research mechanisms to review and monitor existing and new trade policies and their effect on women.
- Research and promote the development of alternative economic models and organizational structures, such as cooperatives, that will guarantee a larger return of trade benefits directly to small-scale producers.
C. Direct Technical Support
- Identify alternative income opportunities for women employed in sectors that are threatened or displaced as a result of economic reforms and globalization. Identify and provide the kind of direct assistance needed by producers in these sectors to be able to better respond to new demands of the international market and to grasp emerging export opportunities.
- Target small-scale producers in agriculture and horticulture, handlooms, handicrafts, textile, garment and leather sectors and help them upgrade their production processes into more value-added products for which they could derive higher incomes. Agro-processing represents one important potential sector. Assisting small-scale producers to meet higher quality standards and control is equally necessary.
- The International Trade Center (ITC) should develop and implement both national and regional programmer that train women traders and entrepreneurs in trade and export promotion. ITC's roving workshops on these topics need to be conducted in all the countries of the region. Its current activities to train women traders and entrepreneurs in India should be expanded to other South Asian countries as well.
- Set up marketing centres where women can display their products and approach foreign buyers.
- Set up poor people's purchasing and selling centres.
- Train NGOs to enable them to train women traders, provide critical economic information with regard to new opportunities and obstacles and lobby for women's concerns at local and national levels.
- Assist cooperatives to be better organized and more responsive to the needs of their members with regard to skills, training, export analysis and marketing.
- Undertake gender sensitization training of decision makers and development planners.
D. Advocacy and Campaign Activities
- Advocate for the introduction of alternative measures of economic success which also take into account women's needs and concerns. Build upon UNDP's Human Development Index as a starting point.
- Advocate for safeguarding livelihood and food security as central objectives of any economic reform plans and trade police negotiations.
- Advocate for compensation and safety nets, retraining, and new employment opportunities for women who have been displaced by recent economic reforms and trade liberalization. Extend such measures also to the informal sector.
- Advocate for labour legislation that ensures fair and equitable working conditions in export-oriented industries, especially in export processing and free trade zones.
- Lobby for greater participation or representation of women and women's groups in trade policy-making fora at global, regional and national levels.
- Mobilize NGOs in the region to take an active interest in global trade issues and to campaign for policy changes and reforms on behalf of women's needs and concerns.
- Assist women's groups to organize themselves around these kinds of issues and facilitate their lobbying of regional economic groups such as the SAARC Secretariat and the World Trade Organization.
- Lobby against the Social Clause the way it is presented through the new World Trade Organization. Argue for the ILO to implement the Clause within the framework of its mandate.
- Build linkages with the international women's movement in lobbying the World Trade Organization and against the Social Clause.
- Lobby for an lLO convention on home-based workers.
- Sensitize trade union leaders to women's needs and specific constraints, and advocate for more trade unions for women, such as SEWA.
- Launch a regional campaign to safeguard the survival of the handloom sector in South Asia, orchestrated by women's groups in all seven countries of the region.
- Lobby for simplified trading procedures and rules for small-scale producers.
- Recognize the existence of "trade in flesh" among South Asian countries and take action to bring this to a halt.
E. Regional Cooperation
- Establish regional groups and networks that can cooperate and develop joint activities around issues pertaining to women and trade expansion. Build upon this first UNIFEM/SIDA organized regional initiative for similar events in the future.
- Develop a regional information network with national centres where women can exchange information about trade opportunities, and about research on trade policies and practice and their effect on women; share experience and information about campaigns and lobbying activities and share ideas for direct support and training.
- Undertake regional case studies on common problems and issues related to trade liberalization which are of concern to all South Asian women.
- Revitalize SAARC as the South Asian framework for increased trade and economic cooperation. Incorporate strong women's programmes and components within SAARC's activities.