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This document focuses on the impact of trade liberalisation on women’s
economic security and its contribution to the Beijing +10 review.
The report argues that since 1995, there is evidence that economic and
political forces have been responsible for measures and policies which run
counter to the commitments made by governments for implementing the
Beijing Platform for Action. This document presents a compilation of
reports which reflect on what has happened and/or what is happening in the
following regions in relation to the liberalisation process ten years
after these two major events: Asia (focus on the Philippines), Central
Asia Sub-region (focus on transition economy - Kyrgyzstan), the Caribbean,
Latin America (available in Spanish and English), and the United States of
America.
Some key conclusions include:
- in the Philippines, the deterioration of public services resulting
from government’s fiscal constraints coupled by policies of
privatisation and deregulation has intensified the "double burden" of
women
- trade propensity in agriculture has done little to alter the
economic and social status of rural women in the Philippines. Although
there is a high demand for labour in export-intensive agriculture, the
paid returns to labour are minimal and often subject to exploitative
conditions
- the Kyrgyz Republic’s transition to a market economy following WTO
accession requirements has increased the burden of women relative to
health care provision in rural families
- women in the Caribbean are found to be potentially the most
vulnerable groups as the processes of economic restructuring takes
place. Women have suffered from the loss of employment in those
countries where the apparel and manufacturing sub-sectors provided
employment for large numbers of women, who are largely responsible for
their families. The prevalence of female-headed households could
potentially magnify the negative impact of job loss and could be further
compounded by the subordinate position of women in society
- women are the backbone of the banana sector in many Caribbean
countries, and the loss of preferential trading arrangements is leading
to the restructuring of the banana industry. The prediction is that they
will face severe hardships, not only as farmers in the own right who
earn an income from this sector, but as managers of the families. If
their male partners also suffer a loss of income, this has a ripple
effect on the family and has been identified as one the contributing
factors in the rise of poverty in St. Lucia
- in Latin America, trade policies promoted by international
agreements under the WTO and by those currently being negotiated do not
only not take women’s rights into consideration, they are actually
moving things in the opposite direction. As the WTO negotiates trade
agreements with the interests of corporations and powerful economies in
mind, these agreements are having a negative impact on the ability to
implement an agenda of social and economic rights for women.
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