TradeExperettes: The Year in Review: Getting by with a little help from our friends
2020 has been an extraordinary year in many ways. For the TradeExperettes, it has been the best of times and the worst of times – both in terms of the dramatic effects we have seen on trade policy and practice throughout the year, but also for the TradeExperettes network and its members.
As regular followers will know, the organisation aims to shine a light on women experts from multidisciplinary fields of international trade policy and to promote diversity in trade policymaking and practice around the world. From a modest start, the organisation has grown substantially in 2020, not just in terms of grassroots support and impact (which have certainly increased), but also in its structure and purpose.
This year, the organisation has truly become a vibrant community of experts, and has helped to serve as a springboard for many women into more prominent roles in global trade policy discussions. The organisation as a whole has also played its part in the global trade conversation. TradeExperettes have demonstrated their expertise and shared their insights by writing, podcasting, speaking and showing thought leadership in diverse ways. We have:
published 28 TradeExperettes blogs and podcasts, including our COVID-19 series – most recently on how the pandemic has shaken up the global trading system and some of our predictions for 2021 — where we’ve covered a broad range of topics such as export restrictions, export controls, supply chain diversification, economic nationalism, pharmaceutical licensing, WTO Agreements, the impacts of COVID on women trade professionals, trade facilitation, trade finance, digital trade policy, the U.S.-China trade war, the campaign for a new Director-General of the WTO, the prospects for a return to multilateralism, the impacts of different trade agreements including in relation to climate change and labour standards, trans-Atlantic ties, and others;
served as an Inclusivity Partner for Geneva Trade Week, with TradeExperettes speakers featuring on a large number of panels;
co-hosted a well-attended webinar on EU trade policy hosted by ECIPE;
presented a webinar on digital trade hosted by the Cato Institute;
held in-house seminars on subjects as diverse as the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal, fisheries subsidies, the new WTO Director-General, and trade negotiations;
launched mentoring and youth engagement programmes; and,
befitting an organisation born on social media, done a lot of tweeting – 18.4K tweets and counting.
Beyond the metrics, however, the TradeExperettes have helped to foster a real sense of community across the world for women trade experts and allies. While we will not be sorry to see the back of 2020 in many ways, it has also shown us how, in the words of the song, we can truly get by with a little help from our friends.
The TradeExperettes have some exciting new developments to announce in the first quarter of 2021 – keep following us on Twitter to find out more.