For Immediate Release:	January 26, 2004
For More Information:	Ana Rahona, Women's Edge Coalition, arahona@womensedge.org, 202.884.8399
Sponsor Organization:	Women's Edge Coalition
Uncovers Ways the Trade Agreement Could Benefit or Harm Women
Washington, D.C., January 26, 2004 – In a victory for the women of Central America, the Women’s Edge Coalition successfully worked with members of Congress to ensure that the United States Trade Representative (USTR) looks at how Central American women’s and men’s employment, wages, and working conditions may be affected by the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). This will enable the U.S. and participating Central American countries to craft policies that will help even the poorest women. Under the Trade Promotion Authority Act passed in 2001, the USTR is required to conduct an assessment of how trade agreements will affect the employment of workers in the U.S. and the other countries involved. The separate assessment of women’s and men’s employment will be done within this analysis. For example, the U.S. recently concluded negotiations to include Costa Rica, where 76 percent of women work in the service industry. The Women’s Edge Coalition would like to see the employment analysis assess how the opening up of the services industry will affect women’s wages, working conditions and opportunities in areas such as this. To advocate for the assessment, the Women’s Edge Coalition worked with Representatives Jim McGovern (D-MA), Hilda Solis (D-CA), and Louise Slaughter (D-NY) to initiate a “Dear Colleague” letter that over 40 members of Congress signed and sent to Robert Zoellick, the United States Trade Representative. The letter asked the USTR to look not only at employment but also at the terms and work conditions for women in Central America, as women make-up 88 percent of the workers in maquilas in El Salvador, and 80 percent in Honduras and Nicaragua. The Women’s Edge Coalition also initiated an organizational sign-on letter to Robert Zoellick that was signed by several of its coalition members including, the Hunger Project, Oxfam America, Pact, CEDPA, Lutheran World Relief, the International Labor Rights Fund, and the Women’s Environment and Development Organization. “The vast majority of the poor in Central America are women, and if a primary goal of CAFTA is to pull the poor out of poverty, then it must address women or it will fail in its mission,” said Elise Smith, Co-Founder and Board President, Women’s Edge Coalition. “We are pleased that the USTR recognizes this and is taking steps to ensure that women are not left behind.” In July 2003, the Women’s Edge’s Coalition also successfully advocated for the U.S.-Chile agreement to include an assessment of men’s and women’s employment, however, the final version of the analysis reduced the assessment to a mere two paragraphs, making it virtually ineffective. “By including an assessment of women’s employment in CAFTA, the USTR is making the right decision, however, it should not end up on the cutting room floor as it did for the U.S.-Chile agreement,” added Ritu Sharma, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Women’s Edge Coalition. “We cannot condemn more women to an unending cycle of poverty when a simple assessment could easily uncover ways women could benefit from the global ecomomy. We are asking the U.S. government to conduct this review so that trade works for women.” The Women’s Edge Coalition is now working to ensure that a comprehensive assessment of how trade agreements affect poor women and men is required for every trade agreement the U.S. signs. About the Women’s Edge Coalition The Women’s Edge Coalition, created in 1998, advocates with the U.S. government for international economic and human rights policies that support women worldwide in ending poverty in their lives, communities and nations. The organization pushes for pioneering development aid programs and offers positive alternatives to current trade policies that benefit and empower the poorest women. The Women’s Edge Coalition has researched and developed several initiatives including the GAINS for Womens and Girls Act and the Trade Impact Review. For more information visit http://www.womensedge.org.