The Secretary-General of UNCTAD Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi has asked governments to do more for women and not just pay lip service to gender issues.  He asked governments, civil society and policy makers to raise the awareness of and find empirical evidence to issues of gender to enable interest groups to be more forceful in their campaigns. 

Dr. Panitchpakdi was opening a Trade and Gender Forum on Sustainable Growth and Poverty Reduction at the UNCTAD XII Conference currently going on in Accra . 

The UNCTAD Secretary General suggested that gender issues be included in labour statistics associated with trade liberalisation, noting that the WTO and ILO are collaborating on the issue of Labour Statistics.  He called for the implementation of Trade Capacity Building activities with gender in mind. 

The UN Special Advisor on Gender Issues, Miss Rachel Mayanja urged UNCTAD to make gender issues part of its conferences because gender is central to trade issues.  She noted that gender equality is not only a goal in itself but a means to achieving all international goals including those contained in the Millennium Declaration. 

Miss Mayanja said gender equality can assist in reducing poverty and promoting sustainable growth by increasing women’s participation in the labour force.  The National Co-ordinator, Civil Society Trade Network based in Zambia , Savior Mwamba advocated the inclusion of women entrepreneurs in national plans of governments.