Excluding fifty percent of the world's population from participating fully in the global economy makes no sense from a purely economic point-of-view. Founder of Grameen Bank Muhammad Yunus is at the cutting edge of improving the global economy by directly helping women via micro-lending. Progressive economic models like Yunus' will go a long way toward minimizing poverty, decreasing wage disparity between men and women, eliminating discrimination, and also increasing the GDP and per capita income of all nations on earth.
Ideas of free trade already impact working women around the world. As free trade is currently practiced, women remain in mainly low-income positions especially in developing nations with no laws in placed to protect against overt sexism. In most cultures women are expected to be householders while at the same time pressured to work outside the home to feed their families. Therefore, women are usually at a financial disadvantage and must be offered ways to achieve upward social and economic mobility if they are to be included in the global economy. The current manifestation of free trade is not inclusive enough.
Yet free trade can be used to help the plight of women. Models like Yunus' show that when women are offered a chance to participate in their local economies they can create robust businesses that will have positive impacts not only on their communities but on the GDP of their country as a whole. Moreover, when female entrepreneurs thrive their work will be recognized on the global stage. Free trade allows female entrepreneurs the opportunity to sell their goods and services in markets they would otherwise have no access to.
Ironically one of the most often criticized features of free trade, that it usurps the authority of elected governments, might end up working to women's favor. Especially in nations that demonstrate ingrained and seemingly...
At the same time, local customs and laws often do prevent women from advancing socially and economically even when free trade permits their input.
Free trade and the global market economy have the potential to uplift and benefit individuals, their communities and whole regions of the world. By opening closed markets, businesses can thrive and grow, creating new jobs and increasing their nation's GDP. When corporations are permitted more power they can occasionally overturn backwards laws and traditions that prevent women and the poor from advancing. Closed markets are not conducive to wealth-building and in many cases exacerbates existing social and economic imbalances.
Therefore, the key to correcting the current problems with free trade is to encourage more small business growth and development. Free trade must take place in an environment that encourages small local economies to thrive as well. No community should become indebted to one or a handful of large multinational corporations. Moreover, wages should increase throughout the world to help eliminate poverty. Regional trade blocks, though widely criticized, are beneficial for protecting the interests of small companies and the communities they serve. Free trade should thrive but in a more ethical environment. Regulations and laws should balance the interests of a totally unfettered economy with common sense and humanitarian ideals.
Works Cited
Free Trade, Growth, and Convergence." Retrieved Feb 24, 2008 at http://www.nber.org/digest/jan98/w6095.html
World Trade Organization (WTO) (2000). "Free trade helps reduce poverty, says new WTO secretariat study." Press Release. Retrieved Feb 24, 2008 at http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres00_e/pr181_e.htm
