Gendering Global Trade through Canada-UK Trade Relationships

'Gender equality', 'gender balance' and 'women's empowerment' are powerful ideas that increasingly permeate global economic policy. While gender mainstreaming has been the norm in the fields of development, aid, and finance for many decades, the idea that the gendered
impacts of trade policy need to be addressed arrived late to global policymaking. What is more, different actors adopt different types of gender and trade initiatives ranging from best endeavour commitments, to knowledge production and the development of gender-disaggregated methodological tools and data, to capacity building and micro-interventions in developing countries. Across global governance, there is growing recognition that progressive trade policy must be gender-sensitive. Current gender-sensitive trade policy initiatives are aimed at supporting women's economic empowerment, closing gaps in welfare distribution and gender inequalities, and minimizing the adverse impacts of trade liberalization on vulnerable women.

This project will assess the current state of research knowledge and scope existing policy initiatives in the field of gendering global trade governance in order to address two key questions: How can future Canada-UK trade cooperation best pursue gender-sensitive, socially progressive policies? How can Canada and the UK be established as leaders in this global policy field? The project will assess the state of knowledge and policy practice on (1) gender mainstreaming in global economic governance; (2) how different national and international institutions translate the idea of gendering trade into specific policies; (3) what are the lessons-learned of existing trade and gender initiatives by members of national and international policy communities. Based on this research, we will identify the most promising policies and practices and indicate areas that require more data and research in order to contribute evidence for future Canada-UK trade policymaking.

Its deliverables are as follows:

1. Gendering Global Trade: Knowledge Synthesis Report. A synthesis and appraisal of the gender and trade literature and of related bodies of academic literature across the disciplines of International Political Economy (IPE), gender studies, development studies, and business studies (15 August, 2018).

2. Gendering Global Trade: Scoping Review. A mapping of existing gendering global trade initiatives taken by various national governments, IGOs and NGOs, and synthesis of firsthand accounts of experiences and best practices with gendering global trade by members of national and international policy communities (15 October, 2018).

3. Gendering Global Trade: Policy Recommendations. Best practices for Canada-UK trade cooperation and leadership based on triangulation of data sources gathered through Knowledge Synthesis and Scoping (15 November, 2018).

National and international trade policymaking communities will benefit from the findings of this study. In particular, the target research users of the knowledge synthesis results include Canadian and UK national trade policymakers, and IGO and NGO officials working on the trade and
gender initiatives. As outlined above, our goal is to shed light on the politics of gendering global trade and, by extension, the policies and strategies that are pursued in order to use trade policy's potential to promote economic growth and social well-being, address income inequality, and
increase inclusion and diversity. The synthesis results will help these targeted audiences reflect on 1) how future Canada-UK trade cooperation can best pursue gender-sensitive, socially progressive policies and 2) how can Canada and the UK be established as leaders in this global policy field.

The results of the study will enhance policy by taking stock of existing research knowledge and examining how different national and international institutions pursue gender sensitive trade policies. We aim to synthesize trade policymakers' experiences with trade and gender initiatives
to date and to identify best practices in order to make policy recommendations to Canadian and UK trade policymaking officials. We also envisage that the findings will assist national trade policymakers, NGOs and IGOs in collaborating to conceptualise gender in global trade governance and coordinating their activities, ensuring that ongoing policy initiatives do not work at cross-purposes. The results of our knowledge synthesis will also enhance public discourse about the possibilities of trade to work for gender equality and global development.

We will adopt a multi-pronged strategy to engage a broad range of stakeholders, including national and international policymakers as well as academic, public, private and not-for-profit sectors, to mobilize knowledge related to promising gender and trade policies and practices, and
to facilitate sharing research findings throughout the study. Specifically, Phase 2 of the research involves attending and organizing stakeholder meetings in Europe and North America. First, we will attend, as participant observers, the 2018 International Business Festival in Liverpool in
June, the International Forum on Women in Trade in Brussels in July, and the World Trade Organization Public Forum in Geneva in late September. Participation in these events will allow us to engage business communities and IGO and NGO officials working on the trade and gender
agenda and exchange ideas and experiences. We will conduct interviews and engage in dialogue and feedback with key stakeholders, with whom we will share the knowledge synthesis results through the electronic dissemination of research summaries outlining the core insights generated
through the study. Second, we will organize a panel at the 2018 WTO Public Forum where we will present preliminary findings and generate feedback from trade negotiators, business representatives, civil society and IO officials. Third, we will disseminate policy briefs based on
our findings to these audiences and, where appropriate, publish op-eds and blogs. Fourth, we will share the results of our findings with key stakeholders by participating in the two knowledge mobilization events in Ottawa and London and presenting our Knowledge Synthesis Report.

We are uniquely positioned to undertake this study because of our strategic location at the intersection of research on trade governance (Drs. Hannah and Trommer) and the gendered nature of the contemporary global political economy (Dr. Roberts). Our our combined research and policy-relevant experiences provide our team with access to wide-ranging networks of relevant target audiences and diverse outlets through which to disseminate the results of this study.