The International Women‘s Day (IWD), celebrated annually globally on March 8, was also commemorated at the Geneva, Switzerland-based World Trade Organisation (WTO), which has as Director General, Nigerian-born internationally celebrated economist, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
The IWD is set apart to commemorate women’s fight for equality and liberation, and focuses on issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, abuse and violence against women.
Dr. (Mrs.) Okonjo-Iweala, in a post on her X (Twitter) platform said the Day was commemorated at the WTO with the first celebration by the Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender, a Group established to bring together WTO members and observers “seeking to intensify efforts to increase women’s participation in global trade.”
According to official records, “the Group aims to share best practice on removing barriers to women’s participation in world trade, to exchange views on how to apply a ‘gender lens’ to the work of the WTO, to review gender-related reports produced by the WTO Secretariat, and to discuss how women may benefit from the Aid for Trade initiative.”
The Director General, in her post, paid special tribute to the Co-Chairs of the Group, HE Amb Clara Delgado Jesus of Cabo Verde, HE Amb Patricia Benedetti of El Salvador, and HE Amb James Baxter of Australia, for their “persistence in pushing forward the role of trade policy in empowering women.”
