Trade and Sustainable Development Symposium

The Sustainable Development Goals recognize gender equality as a major prerequisite to achieve inclusive development worldwide by 2030. In its Goal 5, the 2030 Agenda recognizes the unequal burden that unpaid work represents for women and the endemic gender discrimination in labor markets as main obstacles for women to achieve full potential (Economic and Social Council 66, 2017). The average amount of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work is more than threefold higher for women than men, according to survey data form 83 countries and areas (Economic and Social Council 66, 2017). Women are still underrepresented in managerial positions: in the majority of the 67 countries with data from 2009 to 2015, less than a third of senior and middle management positions were held by women (E/66/2017).Recognition of associated factors to labor market gender gaps is a first step to identify policies that help to bridge them. These interventions represent an efficient investment in sustainable development, as there is evidence of how much would economic benefits outweigh the costs (Bandiera & Natrak, 2014). According to a study, closing the gender gap could increase the size of the global economy by USD 2.1 trillion (McKinsey Global Institute, 2017). The panel will review that evidence briefly to lay the foundations for the central inquiries: ¿What policies should governments enact and what is the best way to redistribute initial costs? Besides, the speakers will consider what it means to incorporate a gender perspective in economic, labor and social policies. For instance, recent experiences in trade liberalization showed different impacts on the wellbeing of men and women; this makes a strong case for the need to include gender considerations in trade policy evaluation. No policy is neutral and the achievement of gender equality requires the recognition of this fact by policymakers.  

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