(iPoster) Do Gender-Related Provisions in Trade Agreements Matter? Evidence from Mexico

• In Event: Poster Session: New Directions in International Political Economy

Abstract

While a growing number of regional trade agreements (RTAs) have incorporated gender-related provisions (GPs)—those addressing women and/or gender-related issues—the experiences and preferences of women workers, the presumed beneficiaries, have received little attention. Prior studies primarily examine countries’ motivations for adopting GPs and their macro-level impacts on various outcomes. This paper shifts the focus from countries to individuals in the Global South.

Using original survey data collected from women employed in formal and informal sectors in Mexico, we examine the micro-level effects of GPs on women’s economic empowerment, which is measured through self-reported workplace experiences, including working conditions, perceived fairness, and opportunities for advancement. We propose that women in sectors more directly targeted by GPs and women with higher levels of education are more likely to perceive improvement in their status at the workplace than others, and that these positive effects are more pronounced in regions with stronger civil society engagement. This highlights that GPs present both promises and limits for women, and their effectiveness depends on support from local social actors. An embedded experimental component further reveals women’s preferences regarding RTAs with GPs.

Mexico, under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), offers a compelling context for examining the relationship between GPs and women’s economic empowerment. First, Mexico entered USMCA with comparatively larger gender gaps than its two North American partners, suggesting greater observable changes if GPs matter in practice. Second, women are highly concentrated in export-oriented sectors integrated into North American supply chains, making USMCA-related commitments directly relevant to a larger share of Mexican women workers. Third, heterogeneity in exposure to North American trade across sectors and regions allows an analysis of the different relevance of GPs. Within this context, USMCA is distinctive among Mexico’s RTAs with GPs. Although Mexico also participates in gender-inclusive RTAs with other developed countries (the European Union and the United Kingdom), USMCA contains more extensive and prominent references to gender-related issues. In addition, the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement was initiated by political developments in the United States and resulted in an abrupt change in the contents and forms of GPs. From Mexico’s perspective, this might be a sudden shift, reducing concerns that observed outcomes reflect the endogenous inclusion of GPs in the USMCA.

By centering women’s experiences and preferences in Mexico, we make three main contributions to debates on trade, gender, and development. First, it brings much-needed micro-level insights into the outcomes of GPs. Second, it expands the empirical focus beyond advanced economies to a developing country. Finally, it stresses the role of civil society in order for GPs to generate meaningful change.

Authors

• Megan Roosevelt, Virginia Military Institute

• Seungbin Park, University of Alabama