”… the lack of gender sensitivity and gender awareness in the policy makers …is a reality, which goes back to the whole system of patriarchy, where the leadership is concentrated - in who has the power in terms of money and who has the authority as such. This spills over into the larger policy making areas, and this is why we have to focus ourselves on what is happening to women…”(Nelica Robinson, October 27^th, 2001). 

These days, policy makers of major donor countries including the EU and the multilateral organizations are envisioning trade liberalization as one of the most efficient means of reducing poverty and creating development for all. It is assumed that by “ liberalization of barriers to trade in goods and services” and “establishing a hospitable environment for private sector investment… poor people will find routes out of poverty from the expansion in farms and enterprises…”[1]

International trade and trade liberalization is also on the agenda of the UN High Level Conference on Financing for Development (FfD) that will take place in Monterrey, Mexico, in March 2002. Governments and heads of states will meet to decide upon strategies how to reach the internationally agreed development goals as set by the UN Millennium Declaration i.e. the overarching goal of reducing poverty by half by year 2015. 

The trade issue is one of the six  items on the FfD agenda and carries the heading "International trade as an engine for growth and development"[2].

According to UNIFEM and WEDO economic growth based on trade liberalization is, however, not synonymous with gender sensitive sustainable development. Lack of development assistance targeted to women’s needs and unregulated private capital flows often increase the burden of care on women, decrease their access to health care and education systems and increase the incidence of trafficking of women and girls as families are forced to find alternative means of survival[3].

Therefore, to ensure that the FfD process will adhere to commitments made at the UN women’s conference in Beijing, Cairo and Copenhagen, women’s NGOs and networks worldwide are taking active part in monitoring the FfD process. 

As a contribution in this process - K.U.L.U. – Women and Development (KULU) hosted a FfD women’s conference, seminar and European regional network meeting in October 2001. This is the report from the seminar and workshop “Financing for Development – Can trade generate development for women? “ held on 27. October  in Copenhagen. 

The overall aim of the FfD trade seminar was to explore the role of trade in financing gender sensitive development - seeking to answer the questions: What are the obstacles, contradictions and challenges? How can trade strategies include a gender sensitive agenda?

 The seminar sought to fulfill two purposes. Firstly, to inform and educate an concerned audience on trade and gender issues as seen from regional perspectives and based on examples from women's lived experiences. Secondly, to identify and draw up common points of convergence that needs to be worked on, both in the agenda of the Financing for Development Conference and in relation to the November WTO Ministerial conference in Doha, Qatar.

The participants were representatives of women’s NGOs, networks and focal points in Asia, Africa, Latin America, The Caribbean, Western Europe and the Central Eastern European countries and Newly Independent States (CEE/NIS), and a number of Danish development workers, researchers, journalists and students as well as representatives from KULU member organizations and individual members.

KULU wishes to thank all of you who gave a helping hand in arranging the seminar as well as the key speakers, the facilitator and all who participated adding content by way of constructive discussions and inspiring proposals. A special thanks to the Danish development agency DANIDA for funding both the FfD conference and the seminar, and to the Norwegian development agency NORAD and FOKUS-Kvinner in Norway for funding the participation of representatives of women’s NGOs and networks in the CEE/NIS, and the compilation of this report. 

Compiled and edited by Ingeborg P. Eliasen