Event: Women’s economic empowerment and how we can help

Join Arancha González, the Executive Director of the International Trade Centre, as she speaks about women’s empowerment, the power of women as economic actors and the importance of investment in women.
 
What is the most underutilised asset in governments’ economic arsenal? Women. While the slowing global economy has pushed countries to explore a new cadre of sometimes unproven policies in the quest for growth, many have not yet fully committed to the full participation of women as economic actors. With studies confirming that more equal economic participation by women would yield large dividends in terms of growth and with the global  economic potential of women likened to a ‘third billion’ that can follow India and China into the global marketplace, ITC is focusing on economically empowering women to become economic actors of change.
 
Arancha González will set out why there needs to be more investment in women-owned SMEs and will highlight some of the concrete outcomes from ITC’s recent initiatives such as the global ‘call to action’, the launch of the SheTrades app to connect more women to markets, and the projects where ITC is working directly with women, including in Papua New Guinea and in Sub-Saharan Africa on ethical fashion.

Arancha González is Executive Director of the International Trade Centre. Before joining ITC, she served as Chief of Staff to World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Pascal Lamy. During her tenure at the WTO, she played an active role in launching the WTO’s Aid for Trade initiative and served as Mr Lamy’s representative at the G20. Prior to working at the WTO, she held several positions at the European Commission, conducting negotiations of trade agreements and assisting developing countries in trade development efforts. Between 2002 and 2004 she was the European Union spokeswoman for trade and adviser to the European Union Trade Commissioner.