Our impact

Empowering Women In Trade

Recognising the additional obstacles women face in accessing global trade, the Alliance seeks to maximise balanced participation throughout every project.

Women own and run a significant percentage of MSMEs but face significant additional challenges to becoming exporters, including gender bias and unequal domestic responsibilities. Recognising this, the Alliance deploys strategies in every project to help maximise balanced participation in trade facilitation initiatives.

The Alliance takes pro-active steps to involve women and women’s business groups from project inception through to completion. Considering the prevalence of family and household commitments, for instance, would mean scheduling meetings, workshops and trainings at times and places that better suit women.

For example, as part of an Alliance project to improve import and export operations in Nigeria, in 2023 the Alliance conducted targeted trainings for women customs agents at the air cargo terminals of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport on advocating for a more women-friendly work environment. And in Malawi and Zambia, training sessions as part of an ongoing accreditation programme for licensing customs brokers are scheduled at family-friendly times and include online elements to broaden access.

Mainstreaming Gender

Putting our Gender Guidelines to work

The participation of women in Alliance projects has risen year-on-year since the publication of our Gender Mainstreaming Guidelines in 2021. The document reflects the Alliance’s determination to ensure everyone benefits equally from our supports for trade reform initiatives. In 2023, women comprised almost 40% of almost 3,000 participants in 72 Alliance-supported public-private dialogues.

Emphasising the universality of gender disparity – including the digital divide – and the diversity of our efforts in helping to tackle it, the Alliance actively engages organisations representing women in business in all its project countries.