One of the main objectives of COPLA is to address the effect of trade policies on gender relations –among the poor. Addressing the challenges, inequalities and barriers that women face is, according to the latest World Development Report (2008) and a recent ODI Opinion paper, the best approach for increasing the productivity and efficiency of the agricultural sector.

In Peru, Nicaragua and Bolivia, the agriculture sector is a key focus of COPLA. Here is where the poorest survive (and these are proportionately poorer than other sectors of the economy). In Peru, CIES is addressing the effect that the US-Peru FTA will have on the producers of substitute goods to those with free access from the US. The policies developed to protect the poor in these sectors, and in particularly women and children, should take into account some of the recommendations of these studies.

New policies should consider changing gender roles and division of labour. Decision-makers need to consider both how to make trade policies more gender-sensitive (e.g. taking into account the gender composition of different economic sectors) and also how to create synergies with complementary social policies (e.g. anti-discrimination measures to address gender barriers and inequalities).

However, “the report focuses very little on the impacts and implications for the global economy, such as the impact of deregulated and liberalised economic policies, and global agricultural trade markets, on gender equality and subsequently, for growth and poverty reduction,” according to Rebecca Holmes and Rachel Slater, from ODI. They add that the report “lacks a rigorous analysis of some key gender-specific constraints — for example, wom¬en’s reproductive responsibilities or cultural barri¬ers — when identifying mechanisms for increasing the role of efficient and equitable labour markets”.

According to the Opinion Piece, “the struggle ahead is to find a balance between using our knowledge on gender to challenge main¬stream policy positions of major agencies on the one hand, versus effectively providing evidence, analysis and messages that key policy-makers and implementers can incorporate into their policies, programmes and projects on the other.” This is what COPLA attempts to do.