Women’s Economic Empowerment and Gender Equality in Trade Facilitation: The Role of Customs and Border Services

To bring clearer understanding of the problems of women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), USAID/E3/GenDev requested Banyan Global to conduct a women’s economic empowerment and gender equality (WEEGE) assessment in the area of cross-border trade, focusing on three questions: a) to what extent is women’s economic empowerment and gender equality integrated into customs and border agency services, operations, and personnel management, across various functions; b) how WEEGE gaps in services affect women participating in trade; and c) how processes, procedures, infrastructure, and systems may need to change to achieve more equitable access, usage, and opportunities for women in trade. This report presents the findings and recommendations resulting from the desk review of literature and the in-depth interviews with customs officials, women traders, and individuals working for supporting organizations.