The IWG Co-Chairs — Cabo Verde, El Salvador and the United Kingdom — made a series of proposals to move forward the Group’s work, in line with the MC13 Ministerial Declaration (WT/MIN(24)/W/12/Rev.1). Some of the proposals related to the Compendium of Financial Inclusion Initiatives for Female Entrepreneurs, launched at MC13, which aims to help policymakers design gender-responsive trade policies to enhance women entrepreneurs’ financial inclusion.
Other proposals drew on additional collaborative work with the Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) Group and the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD) initiative. The proposals also related to members’ experience in building women’s trading capacities and enhancing the skills needed to participate in export trade. The co-chairs also encouraged members of the IWG to share proposals on developing gender-disaggregated data and statistics, as agreed at the last meeting on 6 March 2024. Some members also provided updates on their respective trade and gender initiatives.
Following an introduction from the European Union, Spain presented its initiative titled “Working Group on Women and Internationalisation of the Spanish Economy”, which is part of Spain’s Strategy for the Internationalisation of the Economy 2017-2027. The Working Group aims to improve statistical analyses, access to financing, training in internationalization, and compliance with the Spanish Equality Law. Spain emphasized that the group’s goal is to better understand the factors that favour and hinder female entrepreneurship and to promote the role of women in the internationalization of the Spanish economy.
The Gambia showcased several initiatives under its National Development Plan (2023–2027), including the SheTrades programme and the Jokallenteh Market platform, which connects women farmers to markets. These programmes aim to economically empower women and to achieve significant milestones in training, market linkages and public procurement. Notable successes include supporting over 130 women-owned businesses in food safety and quality and securing USD 3 million in public tenders for women bidders, specifically for food aid supply.
In addition to members’ presentations, the WTO Secretariat updated the IWG on its current work. It announced that the second edition of the World Trade Congress on Gender would now take place on 24-27 June 2025, under the theme “Gender Equality and Innovation: The Keys to Sustainable Trade.” Additionally, the Secretariat announced plans for another training course on trade and gender for Geneva-based delegates in October 2024, following positive feedback received after the pilot course in 2023.
The meeting concluded with a commitment to continue advancing work on gender-responsive trade policies and on fostering greater participation of women in international trade.
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