Gender and trade: how are gender provisions in trade agreements perceived by women who export from Chile?

Abstract

The existing literature increasingly highlights the connection between gender and trade, as it can reinforce or challenge the distinct roles of women and men in economic activities. Trade policy serves as a critical tool that can either contribute to reducing or perpetuating gender inequalities. Chile has strategically incorporated gender provisions into its free trade agreements (FTAs) since 1997, reflecting the significance of trade policy in its economic strategy. However, there is a dearth of information concerning the perspectives of female exporters in Chile on the effectiveness of these provisions. Therefore, this research primarily aimed to explore how women engaged in exporting from Chile perceive the gender provisions in trade agreements. To achieve this, the study involved a comprehensive analysis, including a review of academic literature on the relationship between trade and gender, an examination of Chile's experience with gender-sensitive trade regulation, interviews with Chilean exporters, public officials, and academic experts in trade and gender. Regarding the methodology employed, this research examines primary and secondary sources and undertakes comprehensive semi-structured interviews with female exporters from Chile, representatives from international organizations, academic experts specializing in gender and trade, as well as representatives from the Chilean public sector. In total, 20 interviews were conducted. The investigation on how gender provisions in trade agreements are perceived led to the demonstration that most women exporters from Chile are not aware of such provisions. Nevertheless, they perceive the inclusion of these provisions positively as a step towards addressing gender inequality. However, the main finding of the study is that they do not perceive significant differences when trading with countries that have gender provisions in their FTAs with Chile.