Trade disruptions to hit women harder than men: WTO

Trade disruptions to hit women harder than men: WTO

Women are likely to be harder hit than men by trade disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the dangers are particularly acute in developing countries, according to a new information note from the World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretariat.The paper points to how governments' policy responses could address gender-specific effects of the crisis.The paper estimates the risk posed by trade disruptions on men and women using employment data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys, monthly merchandise exports data and statistics on the mode by which a service is supplied.The paper furthermore notes that women are disproportionately present in the informal sector in developing and least-developed countries and in activities that cannot be done remotely. It also highlights how the existing gender gap in terms of income, education, information technology skills,