CONTENTS:
Introduction
Abstract and Recommendations
Presentations:
Gender Concerns on the International Trade Discussions at the FfD Conference and WTO Agenda. By Maria Floro
Regional Perspectives:
AFRICA:  
Trade Liberalization and Issues of Food-Security, Sustainable Livelihood and Environmental Concerns. By Winnie Madonsela.
ASIA:  
Gender Based Tension at the Junction of Trade and FDI. By Marina Durano.
THE CARIBBEAN: Small Island states Cught Between Elephants and Hippoes. By Nelcia Robinson.
THE CEE/NIS:
Gender Dimmensions of Trade Liberalization in the CEE/NIS. By Oksana Kisselyova.
27 Point Summary of Morning Session Proposals. By Leslie Larsen.
Workshop Proposals
Summary of Concluding Discussions
Concluding "two-word" or "one-sentence" priority by each participant
List of organizations and Networks Represented
Seminar Program



K.U.L.U. -Women and Development
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Abstract and Recommendations


 The seminar was opened by chair of the meeting and moderator  Janice G. Førde, senior consultant at WEDO and chair person of KULU. The first speaker Maria Floro, UNFEM advisor on the FfD process, presented an overview of "Gender Concerns on International Trade Discussions at the FfD Conference and WTO Agenda”, followed by  presentations of regional case studies and concerns by Winnie Madonsela, research coordinator of the Gender and Trade Network in Africa (GENTA), Marina Durano, research coordinator of the Asia Gender and Trade Network and Nelcia Robinson, coordinator of the Caribbean Gender and Trade Network (CGTN) and the Caribbean Association of Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA). Finally Oksana Kisselyova, coordinator of the CEE/NIS FfD regional focal point, gave a short introduction to the gender dimensions of trade liberalization in the CEE/NIS. The workshop facilitator Leslie Larsen summarized the major points of the presentations in a list of 27 proposals to be used as points of reference in the workshops. 

For the workshop session the participants divided into three regional groups – an Asia group focusing on: Export promotion as a strategy for development, an Africa group focusing on: Trade Liberalization and food security, and a Latin-America/ Caribbean group focusing on: Preferential treatment   - unequal treatment for unequal partners. These themes, outlined by the facilitator, were discussed, imagining the world 10 year ahead as the participants would like it to be.  

At the end of the afternoon session the workshop proposals were presented in plenum. Each group had prepared a poster with a list of proposals, serving as basis for the concluding discussions focusing on which proposals and what strategies to prioritize in the future preparations for the FfD, WTO and other parallel processes in order to promote gender sensitive sustainable development. Finally each participant made a concluding “two-word” or “one-sentence” priority statement on which issue discussed at the seminar they considered the most important.

It was decided to make a report of the seminar discussions and  proposals and to keep on sharing information through the KULU FfD web-portal ( www.kulu.dk/Financing.ffdindex.htm ). 

The keynote speeches as well as the workshop proposals and a brief summary of the plenum discussions is available in this report.

As an immediate result of the seminar K.U.L.U.-Women and Development would like to draw the attention  to a number of critical concerns and recommendations that were raised during the seminar and workshop day specifically with regard to the FfD process and the recently held October Preparatory meeting:

  • In the trade section of the FfD Facilitators Draft Outcome paper gender is not mentioned  at all. This is in spite of the commitments made in the preamble of the Draft Outcome paper para 3 to "financing for a sustainable, gender sensitive, people centered development".
  • "Trade as an engine for growth and development" needs to be analyzed from a gender perspective to ensure that this strategy of Financing for Development does not build its success on gender inequalities.
  • The call for "improvement in competitiveness and export diversification can easily lead to a race to the bottom, building on gender wage gaps and gender bias, and marginalizing or steering women into low paid/dead end jobs in free trade zones and export oriented sectors
  • Unregulated import liberalization threatens women's livelihoods. The call for strengthening the role of WTO needs to incorporate gender concerns into trade policies and multilateral trade agreements including into the decision making processes.  

Therefore recommendations include:

  • Mainstreaming gender concerns in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of trade agreements, treaties and initiatives 
    - Integration of gender analyses and impact assessment in all WTO policies through the use of gender disaggregated data and gender development and trade indicators 
  • Establishing gender desks with administrative power within trade and finance ministries and other monitoring bodies
  • Developing countries to have the right to design strategic and selective trade policies that will enable them to achieve the social development goals
  • Look critically at Structural Adjustment Policies of  IMF and the WB, especially the gender differentiated impact of drives for privatization and liberalization

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Compiled and edited by Ingeborg P. Eliasen.