On this year’s International Women’s Day, Feed the Future’s communications team, Agrilinks, will host “Women Without Borders: Gender and Informal Cross-Border Trade,” a live event in Washington, D.C. that you can stream online. The webinar will be March 8 from 9:30 to 11 a.m. EST. Links to register, both to participate in-person or for the webinar, can be found on the event page.
Around 70 to 80 percent of informal cross-border traders (ICBT) in the southern Africa region are women. Although this trade can empower them economically, it can also make them extremely vulnerable to harassment and gender-based violence from corrupt border agents. These women also experience high taxation and trade regulations, unsanitary working conditions, and limited access to credit facilities and information on market opportunities.
The seminar will discuss the obstacles many of these women encounter. Presenters will evaluate research and recommendations on how to improve conditions for these women to ultimately promote gender equality and economic empowerment.