To mark International Women’s Day on Wednesday this week (8 March), the Institute of Export & International Trade (IOE&IT) is running a free webinar about the support that is available to female traders.
Titled ‘Empowering women in international trade’, the webinar will also assess the role that governments, multilateral organisations like the WTO and associations including the IOE&IT have to play in fostering equality through trade.
Female IOE&IT members will share their experiences of working in international trade, including their challenges and inspirations.
Inspire
IOE&IT COO Kelly Rawles, said the event is an opportunity for both male and female traders to “be inspired” about the capacity trade has to drive equality and prosperity globally.
Rawles, who will be a panellist on the webinar, said:
“This webinar is a great opportunity for our members and the wider trader community to be inspired about the role trade can play in empowering women globally.
“Driving equality is a key mission for the IOE&IT at both a domestic and international level.
“This webinar is part of a series of activities the IOE&IT is running this week to show the role that women and men in the UK and abroad have to play.”
Activities
The IOE&IT will also this week be running a special edition of its Member Monthly bulletin on Friday, featuring inspiring stories from some of its most prominent female members, alongside coverage of how traders are celebrating International Women’s Day on Wednesday.
This follows the IOE&IT’s hosting of a panel discussion at the WTO Public Forum in Geneva last year titled ‘Engendering gender equality in international trade: inclusive policies and initiatives’.
IOE&IT also last year partnered with the International Trade Centre to sponsor four female entrepreneurs to attend the Forum.
“From capacity building to networking to shaping the policy agenda, we’re committed to creating opportunities for women entrepreneurs around the world," said Marco Forgione, director general at IOE&IT.
Panel
The webinar on Wednesday will include two panels, one addressing the importance of policy and support networks, the second looking at the experiences of women working in trade.
The first panel, chaired by IOE&IT executive editor William Barns-Graham, will include the chair of the IOE&IT’s academic board Sangeeta Khorana alongside Noreen Cesareo, the president of the Organisation of Women in International Trade’s (OWIT) UK Chapter, and Hunter Matson, a trade policy and research specialist at the IOE&IT.
Rawles will chair the second panel featuring two IOE&IT members: Sylwia Nowak, senior customs and foreign trade compliance officer at Brose UK, and Tajinder Banwait, founder of Urban Apothecary.
You can sign up to the free webinar, ‘Empowering women in international trade’, here.