The World Trade Organization (WTO) Gender Research Hub has issued a call for papers for the first edition of the World Trade Congress on Gender entitled “Gender Equality for Sustainable Trade and Recovery.”

The Congress, which will take place on 5-7 December 2022 at the WTO, is part of the research agenda undertaken by the WTO Gender Research Hub and the WTO Trade and Gender Unit. According to the Research Hub, the theme of the Congress is intended to highlight the trade and gender issues related to the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It also provides an opportunity to deepen understanding of how women’s empowerment can help countries overcome future crises, whether environmental, financial or food security-related — and how trade can contribute to this.”
WTO Gender Research Hub

Criteria for proposal submission

The congress committee of the Research Hub said proposals from any of the sub-themes are welcome: “Trade, gender and sustainable development; Trade, employment and gender; Trade, foreign investment and gender; trade, COVID-19 and gender; Trade, gender and standards; Gender, trade facilitation and crises; Gender, infrastructure and crises; Aid for trade, gender and recovery; Role of the WTO and trade to promote gender equality in crises; Role of women in trade during crises; Role of free trade agreements for an inclusive solution to crises; Trade, women entrepreneurs and recovery; Trade, gender and innovation among others”.

The Research Hub said that submissions are open for both members and non-members of the Hub and papers must be submitted by 30 May 2022.

” Applicants are invited to submit a detailed abstract defining their research questions, methodological approach, and outcomes. The abstract should mention where the research has been published. If the paper has not yet been published, the abstract must include sufficient detail to provide a sufficient understanding of the work expected in the final paper”
WTO Gender Research Hub

About the WTO Gender Research Hub

The WTO Gender Research Hub was launched on 31st May 2021 as part of the WTO’s 2021-2026 Action Plan on Trade and Gender to deepen understanding of the trade and gender nexus and foster research and data collection. The Congress according to the WTO will provide a platform to draw attention to the findings of published or soon-to-be-published research conducted by trade and gender experts and aims to promote innovative research in this field.

The Hub serves as an information-sharing and knowledge-gathering platform where the latest findings of researchers and experts can be shared and disseminated globally through the Research Database on Trade and Gender. It also aims to foster research partnerships, help collect published research for easier access to experts’ findings, bring visibility to the work on trade and gender and promote the topic as a recognized field of research and expertise.

The Hub’s annual work programme includes the Congress and a series of three workshops, entitled Think Up! to further analysis on trade and gender equality issues and showcase research findings reviewed from a block of concrete and practical perspective. The first Think Up! session took place on 9th March and focused on recent research on trade finance for women entrepreneurs.

The Hub includes trade and gender researchers and experts from the WTO Secretariat, international organizations and regional organizations (i.e., Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, International Monetary Fund, International Trade Centre, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, World Bank), members of the WTO’s Chairs Programme (i.e., Mexico, Chile, Barbados and South Africa), and universities from around the world.