Objectives of Aid for Trade

The final report of the Aid for Trade Task Force, created in 2006, states: “Aid for trade should be rendered in a coherent manner taking full account … of the gender perspective and of the overall goal of sustainable development…. Donors and partner countries jointly commit to the harmonization of efforts on cross-cutting issues, such as gender.”

Women's economic empowerment through Aid for Trade

Donors and partner countries have increasingly integrated gender issues into their Aid for Trade objectives. As part of its Monitoring and Evaluation Exercise (M&E), the WTO has developed a questionnaire on women and Aid for Trade. The data gathered helps to identify where gender gaps are and how WTO members integrate gender issues into Aid for Trade projects.

The 2022 Monitoring and Evaluation Exercise revealed that 92 per cent of developing countries include women's economic empowerment in Aid for Trade objectives, with a particular focus on boosting the capacity of women entrepreneurs and farmers. Aid for Trade programmes mostly support WTO members' policy work in infrastructure development, access to finance, climate change, digitalisation, female leadership and the fight against gender-based violence. The main target sectors are agriculture and fisheries, tourism, and textile and clothing.

While gender is now fully part of members' Aid for Trade objectives, it has not been fully integrated in their Aid for Trade priorities. This mismatch helps explain the difficulty in assessing the impact of Aid for Trade on women's economic empowerment. It also shows the challenge of translating objectives into work programmes.

• Women's economic empowerment: an inherent part of Aid for Trade

Aid for Trade flows

There are two types of Aid for Trade support for gender issues:

• gender-specific programmes/projects
• programmes/projects where gender is one of the focus areas.

Almost all Aid for Trade flows go to programmes/projects where gender is one of the objectives. Between 2006 and 2017, USD 3.4 billion was disbursed to gender-specific programmes/projects (less than 1 per cent of overall disbursements – USD 300 billion). A total of USD 45 billion was spent on programmes/projects where gender is one of the objectives (12 per cent of overall disbursements).

• Women's economic empowerment: an inherent part of Aid for Trade

Aid for Trade work programmes

Gender issues have been integrated into Aid for Trade programmes since 2017:

• 2020-22 work programme

Aid for Trade Global Reviews

• Eighth Global Review 2022
• Stocktaking event 2021
• Seventh Global Review 2019
• Sixth Global Review 2017
• Fifth Global Review 2015
• Fourth Global Review 2013
• Third Global Review 2011
• Second Global Review 2009
• First Global Review 2007

2022 Global Review sessions and side events on gender issues

25 July 2022	Informal discussions on the “Handbook on Trade Policy and Gender Equality”
27 July 2022	Women’s economic empowerment in a post-pandemic future: capacity-building, entrepreneurship and financial accessibility Creating an enabling environment to increase women's participation in trade WTO Gender Research Hub Think Up!#2: using data to make trade work for women
28 July 2022	What are the commitments for gender equality in regional trade agreements: Launch of the WTO gender-responsive trade agreements database
29 July 2022	Impact assessment of gender provisions in FTAs: An Empirical Look at the African Experience

2019 Global Review sessions on gender issues

3 July 2019	Women entrepreneurs: Making the Buenos Aires Declaration happen How can aid and 21st century trade help to close the gender gap?
5 July 2019	Women’s enhanced participation in trade through technological upgrading in agriculture
5 July 2019	Empowering women in trade, innovation, and the green economy