The work of the Asia Gender and Trade Network (AGTN) addresses the lack of adequate protection for the livelihoods of the poor, many of them women, who were the hardest hit by the collapse of the Asian model of economic development in 1990s.  In particular, AGTN looks at the impact of trade liberalization on women workers, rural women and migrant women workers, and actively links its advocacy work on these sectors by partnering with existing organizations and networks in the region.  

AGTN is one of the founding members of the Asia Pacific Network for Food Sovereignty (APNFS), the Solidarity for Asian People’s Advocacies (SAPA) and a partner of Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA).

With the upsurge in bilateral and regional free trade agreements in the region, AGTN continues to be actively involved in issues such as the ASEAN, ASEAN plus three, EU-ASEAN FTA, US-Thailand FTA, and Japanese bilateral treaties with the Philippines and other Asian countries.

The AGTN has produced six economic literacy packets that critically examine trade intensification in the region, the structure of Asian women’s employment and social protection, the links between trade and finance and gender implications, among others. AGTN has conducted exploratory research on women’s employment under trade liberalization in five countries in Southeast Asia and a study on financial management in the households of informal sector workers in the Philippines.

Information about AGTN resources can be accessed through the sidebar menu to the left.

For more information on the Asia Gender and Trade Network contact:

Gigi Francisco, IGTN Asia Secretariat