International economic and trade relations represent a key element for the elimination of barriers to the full inclusion of women in the economy, as well as for the pursuit of a gender-equal economic recovery. At the individual level, the insertion of women into the formal economy and foreign trade, either as workers or entrepreneurs, enables them to have higher incomes, positively affecting their economic autonomy, and to obtain a variety of resources from their productive activity, such as income, financial and technological resources, and more. At the social level, the increase in female labor participation and the reduction of the gap between men and women in the employed population contribute positively to greater economic growth.
In the face of this challenge, we seek to bring Chile to the forefront in these matters. To do so, we have promoted a series of initiatives to encourage the autonomy and economic empowerment of women. For example, the development of inclusive trade provisions in trade agreements at all levels and the advancement of inclusive trade principles in multilateral economic forums, such as the World Trade Organization, the Pacific Alliance, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
In some multilateral economic forums, gender issues are dealt with in ad-hoc groups, while in others they are addressed from a cross-cutting perspective that applies to the entire forum. At the bilateral level, it is worth noting the incorporation of chapters on gender and trade into several of our free trade and economic agreements.