By Abdelmonem Fawzi
Trades that require skill are predominantly dominated by males. Women face problems when they try to break into industries that are traditionally male-dominated. They find this intimidating. This accounts for the presence of few women in some trades.
I strongly believe that we should see more women in these trades.
Some steps are being taken to eliminate discrimination, making it easier to acknowledge that changes are happening.
Typically, when employers hire, they look for those who are not only qualified, but also those who fit the corporate culture of their workplace.
As more women study and work in this industry, there has been a shift in the culture of trade workplaces, making them a much more welcoming environment for tradeswomen.
Still, women experience some discrimination in the trades’ workforce.
We are badly in need of overcoming barriers that make women feel welcomed in the workplace. Nonetheless, there are significant steps and improvements that are being made to redress this problem.
One of these steps is made by the Regional Integration and Trade Division (RITD) of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in collaboration with the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and the AfCFTA Secretariat.
The RITD has organised a workshop to validate the report on the role RECs play in the gender responsive implementation of the AfCFTA.
The objective of the workshop was to review the status of gender mainstreaming in trade at the REC level, identify best practices and success stories, highlight challenges in gender mainstreaming in trade policy, and provide policy recommendations for gender responsive AfCFTA implementation.
In his opening remarks, ECA Director, Dr Stephen Karingi, expressed appreciation to all partners, especially to the RECs and the AfCFTA Secretariat, for collaborating with ECA on this important workshop and its findings.
“The effectiveness of the AfCFTA will be limited if women, youth, SMEs, and informal traders are ignored,” Karingi said.
Existing gender gaps, he added, could be exacerbated by the AfCFTA, if the gender lens is not considered.
“This is why ECA is supporting gender responsive implementation of the AfCFTA in a number of ways – through gender mainstreaming in national and regional AfCFTA implementation strategies and capacity building with women’s business associations and SMEs to ensure they also take advantage of the opportunities under the AfCFTA,” he Karingi told the meeting.
The findings of the report are based on a literature review, a data collection exercise in selected regional economic communities, a desk review, and the outcomes of continental workshops on trade and gender issues.
The report identifies challenges and opportunities for building on the frameworks, programmes, networks, and capacities of the RECs to address trade and gender concerns.
Speaking on behalf of Ms. Emily Mburu-Ndoria, director of Trade in Services, Investments, Intellectual Property Rights and Digital Trade at the AfCFTA Secretariat, Ms. Marie Providence Mugangu highlighted that the outcome of the meeting would complement the work of the Secretariat in informing relevant policy frameworks, including the upcoming AfCFTA protocol on women in trade.
She highlighted that the outcome of the meeting would inform the work of the Secretariat in translating the recommendations of the report into actionable initiatives with effective linkages to relevant policy frameworks, including the upcoming AfCFTA protocol on women in trade.
Opening the workshop on behalf of the ECOWAS Commissioner for Trade, Customs and Free Movement, Tei Konzi, Trade Officer at ECOWAS Commission, Mr. Christopher Mensah-Yawson stated that RECs are implementing gender responsive initiatives that could be built upon.
“To accelerate implementation, it will be important to build upon existing initiatives and capacities at the RECs level to take the regional integration process forward,” Mensah-Yawson said.
The one-day virtual event brought together over 50 participants including trade and gender experts from each REC and the AU and AfCFTA Secretariat, researchers and experts in gender and trade on the continent, and partner agencies and organisations that support both trade and gender activities at the regional level.
The participants submitted their reviews of the report and recommended that it be approved subject to the inclusion of comments raised during this validation meeting.
The study was funded by the Global Affairs Canada as part of an agreement with the ECA to support the implementation of the AfCFTA.
The good news is that demand for skilled workers in the trades industry is expected to be high. This means that women are needed in the workforce.
With employment opportunities that high, women should be less afraid of whether or not they will be hired, if they decided to be part of the trades.
The simple truth is that with proper training, women will be hired because workers are needed.
So, I advise young women to be prepared to start work immediately, and begin their career as quickly as possible.
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