Gender gaps in global value chains

In recent decades, Global Value Chains (GVCs) have not only become widely disseminated, but today they account for more than two-thirds of international trade. In GVCs, raw materials, industrial parts and components, as well as services, cross borders several times and are incorporated into the final products. As GVCs concentrate the bulk of trade, the trade and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policies of many developing countries seek integration and scaling up in these chains. GVCs are seen by governments and the private sector as strategic for generating export earnings, the transfer of knowledge and technology, and promoting employment. The results of Latin America and the Caribbean's inclusion in GVCs from a gender perspective are heterogeneous. Inequality in participation between men and women in GVCs is confirmed: women tend to benefit less due to their location in sectors, segments and occupations with lower added value: on the one hand, gender inequalities in the labour market, as well as patriarchal and discriminatory cultural patterns affect the type of participation of women in the chains; on the other hand, this precarious and subordinate insertion of women in GVCs contributes to the persistence of gender gaps in the economy.