Membership

The Hub includes trade and gender researchers and experts from the WTO Secretariat, seven international organisations and regional organisations (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), four members of the WTO's Chairs Programme (Mexico, Chile, Barbados and South Africa) and eight universities.

Gender experts from the private sector, non-governmental organisations and think-tanks will also be invited, on an ad-hoc basis, to present recent findings from current research, to share new perspectives and to expand multidisciplinary research on trade and gender issues.

• More information on the WTO Gender Research Hub members

Background

The WTO launched the Gender Research Hub to deepen understanding of women’s economic empowerment through trade, with the aim of fostering further 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 globally. It also aims to foster research partnerships, gather research to provide easier access to experts' findings, bring visibility to work on trade and gender and promote the topic as a recognised field of research and expertise. The intention is for these research findings to inform discussions across WTO bodies, including the WTO Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender.

“I believe the launch of this initiative is particularly important today because of the economic and social upheaval experienced by millions of women across the globe due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said, Anoush der Boghossian, Founder and Chair of the Hub, and Head of the WTO Trade and Gender Unit.

Work of the Research Hub

Hub members meet quarterly to discuss their work and to jointly advance on trade and gender issues.

Annually, the Hub organizes a series of "Think Up!" sessions to foster dialogue among researchers and to gather different perspectives on specific issues from gender experts, trade experts and women entrepreneurs. These sessions are public.

• Programme and recording for Think Up!#1: “Financing Change: Trade Finance at Women's Entrepreneurs' Rescue”
• Programme and recording for Think Up!#2: "Using Data to Make Trade Work for Women"
• Programme and recording for Think Up!#3: "Gender equality in the DNA of the WTO?"

The Hub holds the World Trade Congress on Gender every two years in Geneva to promote innovative research on trade and gender. It is the first event of its kind to bring together the most eminent trade and gender experts to present new findings and the latest trade and gender research from around the world.

The first Congress took place on 5-7 December 2022 under the theme “Gender Equality for Sustainable Trade and Recovery”. The programme and video recordings of the 2022 World Trade Congress on Gender are available here.

On 7 March 2023, the Hub launched its work programme for 2023-2024 to build further awareness of gender issues, establish joint research work, and create a link among the trade and gender research community, policy makers and the private sector. A summary of the launch event and video recording are available here.

On 13-14 November 2024, the WTO and the WTO Gender Research Hub organized jointly the Youth Trade Summit on Gender, which promoted opportunities for over 50 young researchers and professionals to deepen their knowledge on trade and gender issues and engage with WTO members and senior researchers in the field. The event brought together young researchers in academia and young professionals in governments and served as a platform for incubating talents in the field of trade and gender and promoting the next generation of experts, as well as strengthening the connection between researchers and policy makers. The Summit delegates worked together to produce recommendations on trade and gender work and make pledges on their role as young trade and gender professionals. The programme and video recordings of the 2023 Youth Trade Summit on Gender are available here.

Promoting research on trade and gender: recent publications

• Research database on trade and gender

For more information, contact [email protected].