Global Value Chains, Economic Upgrading, and Gender : Case Studies of the Horticulture, Tourism, and Call Center Industries

Abstract

This document provides a gendered
 analysis of the horticulture, tourism, and call center
 global value chains (GVCs), based on a survey of the
 literature and case studies carried out in Honduras, Kenya,
 and the Arab Republic of Egypt. The studies focus on export
 sectors that have had high female employment and have been
 relatively underexplored from the angle of trade and gender
 research. The studies show that GVCs and their upgrading
 dynamics have important gender dimensions, and that
 integration and upgrading are influenced by, and have an
 impact on, gender relations. While the conditions and
 dynamics in the sectors in concern are very different,
 certain broad conclusions are drawn from the results of the
 studies. The first is that patterns of job segregation are
 observed in all case studies, with women being assigned to
 specific jobs, though the reasons for such segregation
 differ from sector to sector. The second conclusion is that
 women face gender-intensified constraints, though their
 extent and articulation may be quite different, depending on
 the value chain. The third is that constraints related to
 women's primary responsibility for reproductive work
 have been identified as important in all three studies. This
 social division of labor is deeply embedded in developed and
 developing countries, but poor infrastructure, particularly
 in rural areas, heightens this challenge for women in
 developing countries. This report also suggests appropriate
 interventions to improve the constraints faced by women.