The links between gender, trade and development are increasingly being recognised. Developed out of a series of regional workshops, this Action Guide explores the different impacts of trade on women and men; provides practical tools on how to take advantage of the opportunities trade can offer to further development, alleviate poverty and promote gender equality; and suggests ways to get gender onto the international trade agenda.The Action Guide is flexible and can be used by trainers or for self-study. It includes case studies, activities, training suggestions and recommended readings provided on CD-ROM and can be used as a basic introduction or as a resource to develop capacity building for others. It will enable people to take action and apply what is learned to their own context and requirements.Aimed at a broad spectrum of people coming at the issues from many different angles of trade or gender - government officers in relevant trade sectors, gender specialists, NGOs, regional trade policy advisers and more - it is intended particularly for people who are responsible for capacity building and bringing about change, for example through training, briefing or lobbying.
About the Author: Catherine Atthill is an independent educational consultant, specialising in open/distance and online learning. She was co-author and instructional designer for the Commonwealth Secretariat's Gender Mainstreaming Series Toolkit and has worked as a consultant for NGOs such as VSO, WWF-UK and Forum for the Future. Sarojini Ganju Thakur is currently Acting Head of the Gender Section of the Commonwealth Secretariat and Adviser (Poverty Eradication and Economic Empowerment). She is on secondment from the Indian Administrative Service (Himachal Cadre) which she joined in 1977. She has worked in many capacities and her latest postings in the Government of India were as Joint Secretary, Department of Women and Child Development and as Deputy Director, LBS National Academy of Administration, where she primarily worked on mainstreaming gender training for civil servants. Marilyn Carr is a development economist with over 25 years of experience in informal employment, small enterprise development, the impact of trade policy on poverty, and choice and dissemination of technology. Mariama Williams is an international economics consultant and an Adjunct Associate at the Center of Concern, Washington, DC, USA. She is also the Research Adviser for the International Gender and Trade Network.