Conference on women in trade
"Gender neutral trade is a myth"
At the World Trade Institute (WTI), experts from all over the world developed proposals for the advancement of women. An interview with the two pioneers Elisa Fornalé from the WTI and Anoush der Boghossian from the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Elisa Fornalé, professor and in charge of gender issues at the World Trade Institute at the University of Bern, organized this conference in relation to the CEDAW Recommendation. At the event, 28 international experts shared their experiences on the economic advancement of women. On the fringes of the conference, uniAKTUELL was able to speak with Elisa Fornalé and Anoush der Boghossian, head of the WTO working group "Trade and Gender".
uniAKTUELL: What does the WTI event have to do with the draft for a new “General Recommendation” for the UN?Elisa Fornalé:In 2021, I started working on a project that analyses the underrepresentation of women on a national and international level. In this context I was able to join the CEDAW initiative for drafting a new General Recommendation for the equal and inclusive representation of women in decision-making systems. We submitted some preliminary results of our project to the UN committee. I attended a consultation meeting for CEDAW in Washington D.C. where experts shared their insights on the global representation of women. The WTI conference is a follow-up event to keep the dialogue going between members of CEDAW and academics from different international organizations and to provide input on the draft of the Recommendation.
And what is the goal of the workshop that is planned for the second day of the conference?Fornalé: The second day of the conference will be a closed-door workshop where the participants will be able to give feedback on the draft. Mona Krook, the consultant writing the Recommendation for the UN, is expecting to receive a list with concrete inputs at the end of the session.
Anoush der Boghossian: Within the WTO gender is not a traditional issue. Before 2016, the general narrative was that gender is a human rights topic and that trade is gender neutral. Of course, that is not the case. Trade is interconnected with many social issues, including gender. Most of the time, policy issues like gender, immigration or education are looked at in isolation. But trade is tied to all of these issues. For example, education for women and girls is often restricted by trade barriers or, conversely, made possible by economic opportunities.
So how did you come to work on gender issues and what has changed since 2016?der Boghossian: I started working on these issues more or less by chance in 2016. While organizing a WTO annual public forum on the topic of inclusive trade, I came across the role of women in trade. I knew we had to showcase that in the organization – for the very first time in 2016.
About the person
Anoush der Boghossian
Anoush der Boghossian has headed the WTO-Unit for Trade and Gender Equality since 2016. As founder of the WTO Gender Research Hub, she promotes research partnerships on gender equality in trade. She drafted the WTO's first gender policy and is an expert in European and international law and communication.
From there is is a gradual development. In 2017, when I took on gender in an official capacity for the whole organization, I began building up a network through the work with WTO members, external stakeholders and with other organizations like universities. Looking back, we can say that out of all the topics, gender has been the fastest evolving issue in the WTO since 2016. Central to this, for example, was founding the “Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender” in 2020, which is now the biggest working group at the WTO with 130 members and seven observer states.
“Gender has been the fastest evolving issue in the WTO since 2016.”
Anoush der Boghossian
Elisa Fornalé: When I joined the WTI in 2017, my background was completely different: Back then, I was researching climate change and migration. But within the University of Bern, gender was becoming more important, and our institute was asked to put up a gender issue coordinator. I was the only female professor and was asked to take on the role.
About the Person
Elisa Fornale
Elisa Fornalé is a professor at the World Trade Institute (WTI) at the University of Bern. She leads projects on environmental destruction, human mobility and human rights, and gender equality. Since 2023, she has also been working in the field of climate change and human rights. She holds a doctorate in international law.
The first thing I did in 2019 was launch a gender lecture series at the WTI. It was an experiment and the first time the room was empty. But as we can see from events like this conference, we have since created a kind of movement that is still growing. Nowadays I'm not sure whether I'm an expert on gender or on migration and climate change (laughs).
How do your institutions support the promotion of gender parity?Fornalé: My projects on gender at the WTI are complementary of gender research conducted at other university institutes like the Interdisciplinary Centre for Gender Studies (ICFG). The WTI includes an economic point of view that other institutes may not have the capacity or expertise to provide. And as researchers we get to support efforts like the CEDAW draft.
der Boghossian: Research institutions are also key partners for the WTO. My own research has really opened my view on how trade rules actually impact people “on the ground”, especially women. In 2021 I created the WTO Gender Research Hub which includes experts on trade and gender from regional and international organizations but also from academia. The idea of the Hub was to bridge the gap between the research community and international policymakers.
Are you optimistic that the CEDAW’s efforts are a chance for real change?Fornalé: From my perspective, drafting this Recommendation is really something historic. The last General Recommendation on this topic goes back to the 1990s and since then, the situation has changed completely. So we really do need to update this instrument. As academics we don’t often get the possibility to interact with the actual policymaking and bring attention to our research results.
“Drafting this Recommendation is really something historic. ”
Elisa Fornalé
der Boghossian: I fully agree. And I think if we can contribute to that, even on a very humble level, then that’s great. This relates back to our starting point: When I look at the WTO today, it has completely transformed itself already. When members bring gender into it, they also bring the social issues related to gender and trade.
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