International trade can be a powerful force for economic growth and poverty
reduction. However, the impacts of globalization are complex and
multi-faceted, with the poor often in a weak position to take advantage of the
opportunities offered by economic growth and trade. Persistent gender
inequalities, including limited access to and control over productive resources,
insufficient market knowledge, lack of skills, and access to technology, as well
as other constraints that limit employment options and participation in
decision-making, all serve to seriously constrain one’s ability to effectively
participate in and benefit from economic development. Women, in
particular, are among those most disadvantaged. Funded by USAID’s Office
of Women in Development (WID), the GATE project is supporting USAID missions to
integrate the needs of the poor, particularly poor women, into their trade and
economic growth activities.
Providing an enabling environment for women to more fully participate in the
global economy will benefit women, companies, industries, and society as a
whole. Designing programs that assist women in overcoming impediments to
participation enable women to become more productive and contribute to their
country’s overall economic growth. Equally important, designing programs that
address the needs and priorities of both women and men will better enable USAID
to design appropriate policy and program interventions aimed at achieving
economic growth and reducing poverty.
A five-year project working in Albania, Bangladesh, the Dominican Republic,
Kenya, Nigeria, Peru, and South Africa, GATE enhances existing USAID trade and
economic growth activities by helping missions to address gender considerations
in their programming and implementation efforts.
GATE project country activities include:
Albania: GATE is supporting micro and small entrepreneurs through
developing targeted financial curricula modules that consider gender, education,
ethnic, and sectoral differences. GATE is also conducting a study which explores
the gender dimensions of the Albanian labor market including both the formal and
the informal economy. In addition, GATE will be conducting a gendered value
chain analysis to support the Mission’s agriculture processing activities.
Bangladesh: GATE conducted training of USAID Mission staff on
integrating gender into economic growth and trade activities; a pro poor value
chain analysis of the shrimp sector; research on the economic and
legal/regulatory impacts of selected past and expected trade policies and
agreements on gender and poverty indicators; and, a desk review of the ICT
sector to identify potential areas for integrating gender consideration.
Currently, GATE is conducting a study on remittances to review ongoing research
and program activities on in- and out-migration and its particular emphasis on
women’s experience as migrants and receivers of remittances. GATE is also
initiating a study on the Ready-Made Garment industry to explore the ongoing
restructuring and changes that are taking place within the sector, and to
analyze the impact of the Multi-Fiber Agreement (MFA).
Dominican Republic: GATE is conducting studies that examine the
impact of job losses in the garment sector to document the economic and
socio-cultural effects of job loss on both men and women displaced by Free Trade
Zones (FTZ). GATE evaluates potential sectors of alternative employment
for the absorption of displaced workers and determines sectors likely to provide
new opportunities for male and female workers and the associated skill-sets
required. Furthermore, GATE analyzes the change in industry and
male/female labor composition in the FTZ to understand the trends and possible
factors influencing investment and employment decisions.
Nigeria: GATE is conducting an assessment of the market value
chain approach within the cowpea sector in Kano, and will provide
recommendations on how to enhance the current strategy by incorporating pro-poor
policies and activities.
Peru: GATE is designing a gender and trade handbook to train and
assist stakeholders in understanding gender issues within the economic growth
and trade portfolio, conducting a gendered value chain analysis of the artichoke
sector, and studying micro and small business with a focus on the gender
constraints and opportunities to improving market access through the use of
information and communication technology (ICT) in the handicraft and
agribusiness sectors.
South Africa: GATE has conducted two studies examining the
gender dimensions of trade liberalization at the household level. The project is
currently conducting a gender analysis of trade liberalization’s impact of
small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMME).
Kenya: GATE activities in Kenya will begin in early 2007.
These activities may include training USAID Mission staff on integrating gender
into economic growth and trade issues, and conducting gender analyses in the
economic growth and natural resource management sectors to increase the impact
Mission projects are having on gender in that sector.
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