Gender Justice and Global Trade

An increasing number of new trade agreements have provisions dedicated to gender equality. Does this mean that international trade policy now meets gender justice objectives? 

Regrettably the answer is no. 

To find out how governments demonstrate their commitment to gender equality in trade, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung commissioned a study on a specific trade policy event: the new trade tariffs that the US introduced in April 2025. 

The study brings together research on the impacts of the new US tariffs on women workers in export sectors in six countries: textile and garments in Bangladesh, India and Madagascar, citrus fruit in South Africa, and a range of sectors in Vietnam and Zimbabwe. 

Gendered impacts – blind responses

The findings reveal shared insights: pre-existing structural inequalities amplified the impacts of the tariff uncertainties on women, and government responses to the tariffs were consistently gender-blind. The study documents how workers in the lowest-paid, most precarious roles lost employment first. The income loss intensified women’s unpaid workload, and reduced spending on food, health, and education, causing harm that may extend well beyond the immediate economic shock. 

Gender and economic inequalities intertwined

The study reveals how deeply intertwined gender and economic inequalities are in the international division of labour, raising questions about the terms on which women and export-dependent countries are included in the global economy. The tariffs also deepened competition among countries, sectors and workers, undermining the needed collective action. 

Evidence in favour of Gender-Transformative Reforms

This study brings new evidence to inform future efforts to ensure gender equality in trade from a gender-transformative perspective. Taken together, the studies’ findings and recommendations suggest that incremental measures are insufficient: Gender justice in trade calls for more than simply seeking to integrate women into the existing unjust trading system. It requires a fundamental rethinking of how trade policy is designed, by whom, and for whose benefit. The study formulates a set of recommendations, ranging from tying short-term emergency support to women-worker protections, to longer-term proposals that address structural causes of gender inequalities, such as investing in care as a priority for economic and trade policy.