Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), has emphasized the importance of trade in assisting women-led small companies in addressing climate change and boosting innovation.
Okonjo stated at a workshop co-hosted by the Informal Working Group on Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs), the Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender, and the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD) that coming together and coordinating actions are important for promoting trade and industry as the body works towards greater inclusivity.
She went on to say that recognizing and removing barriers to women’s entrepreneurship and participation in international trade is critical. Despite the fact that one-third of worldwide firms are owned or headed by women, she claims there is still no equality with men-owned businesses.
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She stated that we must correct some gender-biased misconceptions, such as the belief that women are less suitable for entrepreneurship and lack skills and the ability to innovate, by creating and making available to women-led trade enterprises the tools they require and appropriate responses, particularly in the areas of digital applications and trade finance.
The workshop, themed “Women-led MSMEs, Trade, and Climate Change — Adapting and Investing for the Future,” aimed to provide a joint solutions lab to emphasize the necessity of tackling inclusion in WTO talks and rulemaking, as well as to emphasize the link between sustainability and inclusivity.
The event began with a round table discussion that emphasized the necessity of the three groups working together to bring consistency to members’ work. It then featured examples of how women-led MSMEs are aided at the national level, with a special emphasis on impoverished people.
Another panel of entrepreneurs discussed the obstacles that women-led small firms experience when attempting to integrate environmental and social factors into their business activities, as well as potential solutions to these challenges.
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