By Francine Black, Staff ReporterTRADE LIBERALISATION causes women to lose jobs while men gain employment, according to the findings of a study about the effects of trade liberalisation on Jamaica's poor.
The findings of the study were presented yesterday at a workshop hosted by the Bureau of Women's Affairs and funded by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. The report was titled: 'The effects of trade liberalisation on Jamaica's Poor: An analysis of agriculture and services'. The function was held at the Alhambra Inn in Kingston.
DISPARITIES
Ritu Sharma, co-founder and executive director of the Women's Edge Coalition, which conducted the study jointly with the Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA), found several disparities in the distribution of jobs in the Jamaican workforce.
"Between 1993 and 2001, men gained 45,500 jobs while women lost 12,400 jobs," Ms. Sharma noted.
She also pointed out that the study found that with the pending Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) men stand to gain 50,000 new jobs while women stand to lose 12,000 more jobs between 2005 and 2009.
TREND
This trend, she noted, was cause for concern as a lot of households in Jamaica were headed by women who were the only source of income for their families.
"Women pay the lion's share of the costs of raising children since children are much more likely to live with mothers, aunts or grandmothers than fathers or male relatives," the study said.
In addition the study also noted that women-headed households were more vulnerable to poverty and have lower average consumption than male headed households.
Migration was also found to be a common survival strategy for families as the remittance sent by those who migrate tend to prevent poor families from seeping into greater poverty.
Ms. Sharma urged that these issues be examined further to ensure that the women and the poor are protected when the island opens its economy even further to accommodate trade.
