Trade & Investment
“Trade can expand women’s role in the economy and decrease disparities with men by giving women more and better employment opportunities. Seizing these opportunities will be even more important in a post-COVID-19 world.”
[Mari Pangestu, World Bank Managing Director]
WEI’s work on women’s entrepreneurship is being combined with targeted policy advisory and operational on trade and investment to help increase gender economic equity, facilitate the access of women-owned enterprises to markets and business growth opportunities in trade value chains, and strengthen the pipeline of women with the relevant skills and education.
According to the World Bank:
- Exporters employ more women: In developing countries, women make up 33 percent of the workforce of exporting firms compared with just 24 percent of non-exporting firms
- Trade creates better jobs for women: When women are employed in sectors with high levels of exports, they are more likely to be formally employed in a job with better benefits, training and security
- Trade increases women’s wages and increases economic equality: Developing countries that double their manufacturing exports—a typical increase for developing countries that open themselves to trade—would see women increase their share of total manufacturing wages from 24% to 30% through a combination of increased employment and higher salaries
SOURCE: Women and Trade: The Role of Trade in Promoting Women’s Equality World Bank: Wash. DC, 2020
