E-commerce reshapes global trade, and helps in diversifying its scope and geographical reach, especially for firms in developing countries.

The boom in e-commerce has raised new hope in digitalization as a way of promoting inclusive development and gender equality. This is because e-commerce presents many opportunities for women’s economic empowerment, especially through supporting business growth and diversification in their roles as entrepreneurs.

E-commerce can ease women entrepreneurs’ entry into trade by lowering some of the supply-side barriers that are more severely experienced by women, particularly in terms of access to finance, to business networks and market opportunities.

Non-tariff measures (NTMs) refer to rules, regulations, and mandatory standards applied to international trade with the aim of preserving legitimate policy objectives such as protecting the environment, ensuring consumer safety, health, and wellbeing.

While NTMs are de jure considered gender-neutral, they often have different implications on men and women due to the gendered supply-side constraints, as summarized above.

In online trade, as well as in offline trade, the process of complying with NTMs may be more burdensome for women than it is for men because of pre-existing gender gaps, compounded with factors related to firm size, exporters’ capacities, the economic sector in which businesses operate, and the accessibility of support systems, among others.

Recognizing the gendered effects of international trade rules is crucial for fostering an environment where women-led businesses can benefit from e-commerce opportunities.

While the use of external support services can mitigate some of the costs associated with NTMs, comprehensive solutions are needed to ensure that women-led and women-owned enterprises engaged in e-commerce can realise their potential as exporters.

The gender implications of NTMs have been investigated in the context of trade in general, however, the implications of NTMs for women entrepreneurs engaged in e-commerce have not been explored sufficiently.

This study aims to fill this gap and present a review of the implications of NTMs for women-led and women-owned enterprises engaged in e-commerce.

Report by the UN Trade and Development