WT/MIN(21)/4  
10 November 2021  
(21-8524) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Twelfth Session  
Geneva, 30 November -3 December 2021  Original: English  
 
 
JOINT MINISTERIAL DECLARATION ON THE ADVANCEMENT OF GENDER EQUALITY  
AND WOMEN'S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT WITHIN TRADE  
12TH WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE  
This Declaration is being issued at the request of Afghanistan; Albania; Angola; Argentina; Australia; 
Barbados; Benin; Botswana; Brazil; Burundi; Cambodia; Canada; Chad; Chile; Colombia; Costa 
Rica; Côte d'Ivoire; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; El 
Salvador; Eswatini; European Union; Fiji; Gabo n; Gambia; Georgia; Grenada; Guatemala; Guinea; 
Guinea Bissau; Guyana; Haiti; Honduras; Iceland; Indonesia; Israel; Jamaica; Japan; Kenya; Korea, 
Republic of; Kyrgyz Republic; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Lesotho; Liberia; Liechtenstein; 
Madagascar; M alawi; Malaysia; Maldives; Mali; Mauritius; Mexico; Moldova, Republic of; Mongolia; 
Montenegro; Myanmar; Namibia; New Zealand; Niger; Nigeria; North Macedonia; Norway; 
Paraguay; Peru; Philippines; Russian Federation; Rwanda; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Vi ncent and 
the Grenadines; Samoa; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Switzerland; the Separate Customs Territory of 
Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu; Tajikistan; Togo; Tonga; Trinidad and Tobago; Turkey; 
Uganda; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom; Uruguay; V anuatu; Viet Nam and Zambia.  
 
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Reaffirming  the objectives of the Joint Declaration on Trade and Women's Economic Empowerment 
launched in the margins of the 2017 WTO Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires;  
Acknowledging  and supporting the S ustainable Development Goals in the United Nations 
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly Goal 5 on achieving gender equality and 
empowering all women and girls, and other instruments supporting gender equality;  
Acknowledging  the progress ma de in implementing the Buenos Aires Declaration and the work of 
the Informal Working Group (IWG) on Trade and Gender, as described in document INF/TGE/R/1 
and based on four pillars: reviewing analytical work undertaken; experience sharing; considering 
the concept and scope for a "gender lens"; and contributing to the Aid -for-Trade Work Programme;  
Recognizing  that women can benefit from trade; that they constitute an economic force globally, 
that increasing their participation in the labour market to the sam e level as men's and ensuring full 
recognition of women 's economic rights will raise Members' GDP; and that the WTO can provide a 
venue to engage on trade and gender to positively impact women 's economic empowerment and to 
achieve sustainable economic growth;  
Recalling  that women continue to face disproportionate barriers exacerbated by the COVID -19 
pandemic, particularly of unpaid care and domestic work, that prevent them from fully engaging in 
and benefiting from international trade, and ackn owledging that various economic and trade 
instruments, policies, programmes and agreements could address these barriers;  
Noting that the IWG on Trade and Gender, assisted by international organizations, initiated  its 
technical work on better understanding the nexus between trade and gender and the efforts of 
Members to afford opportunities for women workers and entrepreneurs to share their views and how 
to take these into consideration in developing their national and trade policies;  WT/MIN(21)/4  
 
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  Building  on the work do ne by the IWG on Trade and Gender, and the information gathered and 
shared by the WTO Secretariat and other international organizations, we, the Ministers and Heads 
of Delegations, agree to:  
1. Continue to review, develop and improve national and/or regional collection of 
gender -disaggregated data that is comparable to the extent possible and analysis on trade 
and gender, to provide the basis for informed gender -responsive policies;  
2. Utilize research initiatives to inform trade policy instruments and p rogrammes to support 
women's economic empowerment and increase their participation and leadership in 
international trade to promote gender equality;  
3. Explore and analyse a gender perspective and women 's economic empowerment issues in 
the work of the WTO; an d 
4. Promote and highlight the collaboration on trade and gender between international and 
regional organizations, and our respective development and other relevant authorities with 
the aim of mainstreaming a gender equality perspective into Aid for Trade.  
We instruct our officials to continue work on trade and gender and build a two -year work plan that 
includes concrete action points towards the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13) and review the 
work plan after one year of implementation and thereafter inf orm the General Council periodically 
on its progress;  
We instruct the IWG on Trade and Gender to continue to discuss the effect of the COVID -19 pandemic 
on women  and explore avenues that build an inclusive recovery and strengthen women's economic 
resilienc e using improved data collection to advance gender equality and equity as appropriate.  
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