Uncertain Trade, Unequal Burden: How Trade Tensions Widen the Gender Gap

Global trade is under pressure and its impacts are far from evenly shared. But who bears the brunt of rising tariffs and escalating trade tensions?

This question was at the center of the high-level panel discussion ‘Uncertain Trade, Unequal Burden: How Trade Tensions Widen the Gender Gap’, co-organized by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Geneva Office on March 3.

Panelists explored how today’s trade tensions, tariff increases, and economic uncertainty are reshaping livelihoods around the world – and why women in export-oriented industries, particularly in sectors such as textiles, are paying a disproportionate price. The discussion created space for critical reflection and exchange on how recent trade policies affect women and girls, and what policy responses are needed to address these unequal impacts.

The event also marked the launch of a new London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) study commissioned by GIZ: ‘Uncertain Trade, Unequal Burden: The Gendered Impacts of Current US Tariffs in Cambodia and Lesotho.’ An executive summary of the study is available here.

GIZ and FES will continue their partnership to ensure that gender-specific impacts remain on the trade policy agenda. Throughout 2026, a further follow-up study and event are planned to ensure that gender equality is treated as a core dimension of trade policy – and not as an afterthought.

Speakers 

Opening Remarks:
H.E. Carmen Heidecke, German Ambassador to the WTO
Matthias Pesch, Trade Program Officer at FES

Panelists: 
Anoush der Boghossian, Head of Trade and Gender, WTO
Fatma Gül Ünal, Chief Trade and Gender, UNCTAD
Caroline Dommen, Expert on Trade and Gender
Tom Grinter, industriALL Representative 

The event was moderated by Leontine von Levetzow, Head of the Trade Division, BMZ.