Gender and Trade In the Caribbean

Much has been researched, written and debated with respect to globalisation and trade liberalization and its impact on Caribbean economies as well as, the social and cultural upheavals brought about by this process. On the opposite side of this coin, it could be ssaid that very, very little has been researched, written or debated regarding the gender dynamics of trade. In fact, the reaction from most people when questioned on this topic is to ask the question what does gender have to do with trade?

The reality is that gender has a great deal to do with the global trading system of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which has helped to propel and speed up the process of global trade liberalisation, as well as, the sub-regional trading agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the hemispheric Free Trade Area of the Americas, (FTAA).

We need to understand that gender, that is, the social dynamism that determines the relationships not only between men and women, but also in their relationship with social and economic production. This understanding would assist in fostering a better appreciation of the need to include gender as a critical component in the design, implementation, analysis and evaluation of all policies and programmes.

The concept of free trade has a long history and is seen essentially as a method of promoting efficiency through free trade, based on competition and specialization. Basically free trade allows countries to maximize their resource endowments by producing what they can from their natural and human resources, for sale or export. The underlying principle behind the concept of trade is that of "comparative advantage" which also supports the view that trade is mutually benficial. It also assumes that the inherent competition would force all producers, be they individual company or country to concentrate resources in areas where they enjoy the greatest cost advantage over thier competitors.

The recent transformation of the world economic system has emerged in response to changes in the international system of production, the development of regional trading blocs, the dynamics between financial markets and the transition to market driven economies. As a result, the world economic landscape is being severely altered by the process of what is often referred to as "Global Economic Restructuring", more common termed "globalization", driven by the liberalisation of trade and capital markets, characterised by the rapid dismantling of barriers to the international trade in goods and services and the mobility of capital.

The more immediate results has been that of social exclusion, the marginalization of poor countries and an ever-widening gap of inequalities between rich and poor countries. For the Caribbean, this development has meant that those countries which in the 60s and 70s managed to build up a light manufacturing export oriented base, today face major difficulties in gaining access to external markets for their manufactured products.

The situation is compounded because the trend is for Industrial countries to bias their tariff structures against processed commodities. Sugar for example, an important export crop for many Caribbean countries, faces an average tariff of more than 20 per cent if it is refined before being exported to industrial countries, whereas, only one per cent is charged on exports of the raw product. Faced with the daunting array of non-tariff barriers these small territories are often excluded from Northern markets and discouraged from developing a manufacturing base.

The Caribbean and Trade

The economies of Caribbean countries are extremely small and very open with limited population and market size, which makes them vulnerable to the vagaries of international trade. The limited range of export commodities, places them at a distinct disadvantage with respect to price fluctuations on the international market. This situation is further compounded by their susceptibility to natural disasters such as hurricanes and volcanoes which have served to hinder economic development in most of the small Caribbean States. (Lestrade 1981: 8)

The trading arrangements of Caribbean countries are very closely tied to relationships with their former colonial masters. Although independence offered the opportunity to expand these relationships not much emphases has really been placed on breaking the existing ties which provided a measure of protectionism for Caribbean exports amongst other concessions. In fact, much of the trade policies in the post-independence period has shown "a marked preference toward continuation of, and deepening of relationships with Western countries". This has remained one of the inherent weaknesses which has impacted on trade and foreign policy in the Caribbean.

Caribbean countries are now faced with the probelm of developing national level machanisms to enable them to make the necessary transition to participate in the processes of international relations. But the "virtual absence of trained international relations experts", has been a major stumbling block within the region. (Ibid: 28).

The reality is that trade and foreign policy arrangements in the Caribbean are limited by the availability of resources, including material, financial and human resources. The trade activities of Caribbean countries are therefor very restrictive and to a large extent very unequal and unbalanced in favour of the larger more developed countries with whom these arrangements are characterised by a "top-down" approach, where there is a great deal of dependency on the part of the smaller more vulnerable countries. "Small states are invariably subjected to influences from beyond their national boundaries", which limits their ability to be more pro-active in the negotiation of such arrangements. (Barrow-Giles 1995: 43)

This inherent weakness coupled with the lack of institutional mechanisms to deal effectively with the requirements of the rapidly changing international trade environment has been identifies as factors which contribute to the inability of Caribbean countries to quickly identify and analyse the warning signs which indicate that crucial shifts in trade policy are imminent.

It is clear from the trends that it is trade policy which lays the foundation for socio-economic development and to the extent that these developments impacts significantly on the lvies of men and women in Caribbean societies, a focus on gender issues in trade is necessary because the welfare of men, women and children throughout our societies can be determined by trade policy.

Antrobus classifies gender issues in trade as follows:

Economic issues: housework and other un-waged work; salary and wages discrimination against women in the work place, labour force segmentation, treating women as a reserve labour force, which results in lower wages for women and less job security;

Social issues: The link between the role of men and women in economic production in the public sphere, and social reproduction, reproductive health, care of children and the elderly in the private sphere; and women’s education;

Political issues: gender-based hierarchies in households, the work-place and community:

Cultural issues: The vesting of women’s right ot land in the family and the implication of this for agriculture policy, women’s role as consumers and in determining household expenditures; the implications of women’s multiple roles as farmers and as home-makers for productivity.

How does Trade Impact on Women?

When a gender analysis of the impact of trade policies is applied, the indications are that women are potentially the most vulnerable groups, as the processes of economic restructuring takes a foothold in the Caribbean. Women have suffered from the loss of emplyment in those countries where the apparel and manufacturing sub-sectors provided emplyment for large numbers of women, who have responsibility for families because of the prevalence of female-headed households, which could potentially magnify the negative impact, which is further compounded by the subordinate position of women in society.

The loss of the Caribbean’s comparative advantage in terms labour costs has led to a diversion of trade, as the multinationals relocate their production processes to other countries to take advantage of the reduction in tariffs, cheaper labour and overall lower operational costs.

Women involved in agricultural production increasingly face the challenge of having to compete with the importation of cheaper agricultural products, which militates against efforts at enhanced productivity in this sector. This has led not only to a reduction in the domestic market for such produce, but also to a significan lowering of the income of family-sized producers, who are forced to sell at lower prices in order to compete.

These impacts have been compounded by the banana situation, following the loss of preferential trading arrangements leading to the restructuring of the banana industry. The impact on the OECS economies has been immediate and very visible bringing about changes in the social fabric of the society. For example, St. Lucia recorded a massive reduction in revenue earned from bananas. Banana producers face an uncertain future as the preferential access to European markets has been removed forcing them to compete wiht cheaper bananas grown on larger US-owned plantations in Latin America.

As women are the backbone of this sector, the prediction is that they will face severe hardships, not only as farmers in the own right who earn an income from this sector, but as managers of the families. If their male partners also suffer a loss of income, this has a ripple effect on the family and has been identifies as one of the contributing factors in the rise of poverty in St. Lucia.

The gender impact of trade liberalization has therfore been most evident in the area of employment. The experience of the male and female banana farmers in the Windward Islands is perhaps th e most dramatic case in the region.

Linked to this is the inadequacies of Caribbean negotiators who have tended to focus primarily on market access, placing little or no attention to ensuring protection for domestic producers, such as small farmers and small business firms, who are unable to compete with the heavily subsidized (agricultural) US companies. Consequently, the Caribbean agricultural secto has experienced some of the most adverse impacts of trade liberalization, ranging from a reduction in international market access to competing at the domestic level with foreign produce, which have flooded local markets.

The shift away from preferential trading arrangements to one based on reciprocal trade, has resulted in either "studies compacency or sheer panic," among Caribbean states, who appear more intereted in maintaining the existing preferential arrangements.

The developing relationship between the Caribbean and the Americas, is another challenge, (language and culture), as these relations now consitute the region’s most pressing global agenda.

Difficulties for Caribbean counties are that their economies are small and fragmented with a high dependency on Europe and North America for their exports, which are being altered under the new trading arrangements and regional trading blocs. These developments can also be traced to the end of the Cold War and the Shift in trade and investment opportunities away from the former colonies to new partners in Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean, and while the EU has not abandoned its ACP partners "the geopolitical and historical justification for EU-ACP relations" is no longer relevant.

Predictions suggest that trade liberalization will lead to an increase in gains in the services industries, such as tourism, informatics, offshore banking and insurance, which should be harnessed and developed by government through the creation of investment incentives. however, there is need for caution, in terms of gender and the development of these sectors, which are dominated by women in the Caribbean, and the implications for both men and women in therms of their location in the socio-economic structures of our societies.

Research results relative to the impact of trade liberalization on women, although inconclusive, points to the association with the global increase in employment opportunities for women, as well as, the expansion of businesses owned and operated by women, which provide women with an income, thereby providing women with the opportunity for enhancing their economic autonomy and empowerment, in both the public and private spheres. However, the same opportunities provided for women by trade liberalization policies, can also serve to worsen their socio-economic status.

The offer of increased opportunities for trade and investment within the region, has prompted member stastes to take necessary steps to liberalize their trade and investment regimes, and to reform national level macro-economic policies in order to increase their export capacity, thereby facilitating their intergration into the global world economy. Caribbean states are therefor taking steps to make the appropriate adjustments to enable them to achieve sustainable economic growth and improve thier international competitveness in order to prevent them from being marginalized.

The Caribbean region has been trying to adapt to the changing trading relationships and are taking steps to enhance economic development, in light of the removal of the former barriers to the operation of free trade, namely the removal of preferential trading arrangements and concessionary financial aid, which has been replaced by fierce global competition and free market operation.