The Congress will provide a platform to draw attention to the findings of published or soon-to-be published research conducted by trade and gender experts and aims to promote innovative research in this field.  Submissions are open for both members and non-members of the Hub.

The theme of the Congress is intended to highlight the trade and gender issues related to the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. It also provides an opportunity to deepen understanding of how women's empowerment can help countries overcome future crises, whether environmental, financial or food security related — and how trade can contribute to this. The Hub further invites participants to reflect on the extent to which trade can accelerate recovery and help rebuild a gender-responsive economic environment after crises.

The Congress Committee welcomes proposals on the following sub-themes, among others:

• Trade, gender and sustainable development
• Trade, employment and gender
• Trade, foreign investment and gender
• Trade, COVID-19 and gender
• Trade, gender and standards
• Gender, trade facilitation and crises
• Gender, infrastructure and crises
• Aid for trade, gender and recovery
• Role of the WTO and trade to promote gender equality in crises
• Role of women in trade during crises
• Role of free trade agreements for an inclusive solution to crises
• Trade, women entrepreneurs and recovery
• Trade, gender and innovation

Applicants are invited to submit a detailed abstract defining their research questions, methodological approach, and outcomes. The abstract should mention where the research has been published. If the paper has not yet been published, the abstracts must include sufficient detail to provide a sufficient understanding of the work expected in the final paper.

Applications should be submitted to [email protected] with the subject “WTCG — Call for Papers” by 30 May 2022.

Selected applicants will be notified at the latest by 11 July 2022.

The Congress will be a public event open to academics, students, international organisations, non-governmental organisations, the private sector, and delegations of WTO members.

About the WTO Gender Research Hub

The WTO Gender Research Hub was launched on 31 May 2021 as part of the WTO's 2021-2026 Action Plan on Trade and Gender with the objective of deepening understanding of the trade and gender nexus and fostering research and data collection.

The Hub serves as an information-sharing and knowledge-gathering platform where the latest findings of researchers and experts can be shared and disseminated globally through the Research Database on Trade and Gender. It also aims to foster research partnerships, help collect published research for easier access to experts' findings, bring visibility to the work on trade and gender and promote the topic as a recognised field of research and expertise.

The Hub's annual work programme includes the Congress and a series of three workshops, entitled Think Up!, to further analysis on trade and gender equality issues and showcase research findings reviewed from a concrete and practical perspective. The first Think Up! session will take place on 9 March and focus on recent research on trade finance for women entrepreneurs.

The Hub includes trade and gender researchers and experts from the WTO Secretariat, international organisations and regional organisations (i.e., Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, International Monetary Fund, International Trade Centre, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, World Bank), members of the WTO's Chairs Programme (i.e., Mexico, Chile, Barbados and South Africa), and universities from around the world.

For more information, please contact the WTO Trade and Gender Unit at [email protected].