§ 23. Mrs. Anne Campbell (Cambridge) (Lab)What action she is taking on gender and trade issues.[182672]
§ The Minister for Women and Equality (Ms Patricia Hewitt)Yesterday, I published a White Paper on trade and investment that makes the case for global trade that is fair, as well as free, and stresses the need for trade policies in developing countries to be integrated with programmes for development and poverty reduction and to ensure that the position of women, who are the majority of the poor in those countries, is taken fully into account.
§ Mrs. CampbellDoes my right hon. Friend agree that women are often more adversely affected than men by trade globalisation issues? For instance, they are more likely to be affected by the transfer of call centres abroad. Will she ensure that her policies take account of gender issues and that our trade rules mean that globalisation is good for women as well as for men?
§ Ms HewittI absolutely agree with my hon. Friend that we have to consider the differing impact that growing trade and technology can have on men and on women. It can work in both directions. The manufacturing jobs that we have lost to global trade have often been male jobs, but the new jobs created in developing countries have often been taken by women. The point is to take such factors into account to ensure that women as well as men, in developing as well as developed countries, can benefit from the growth in the world economy.