Gender Mainstreaming in Kenya’s Trade Agreements: The Africa Continental Free Trade Area

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to investigate whether the Treaty establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement is gender mainstreamed. Specifically, the study investigates how gender related issues are represented in the Agreements establishing the AfCFTA; analyses whether the Agreement establishing the AfCFTA commits to addressing the challenges that women face in participating in employment and trade; describes the contexts in which gender issues are mentioned in the Agreement; investigates whether the Agreement perpetuates gender inequality, is accommodative of gender issues without addressing inequality, or is gender transformative. Methodology: The paper uses textual analysis to check whether gender related words are used in the text and in what context. The paper also checks whether there is commitment to meeting gender related commitments and uses the Fletcher (2015) gender equality continuum as a conceptual framework to classify the Agreement as exploitative, accommodative or transformative.  Findings: The analysis finds that although there is an attempt to use gender related words, there is lack of commitment in the Agreement to implement these commitments. The intended inclusion of the Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade in the Agreement is expected gender mainstream the Agreement. Unique Contribution to Theory, Policy and Practice: The paper contributes to policy and practice on the negotiation and drafting of trade agreements not only by the Kenyan government but also by other African countries. That trade agreements should be negotiated and drafted with the intention of making effective implementation possible. Gender issues should not only be explicitly included in the trade agreements, but they should also be implemented and evaluated for their effectiveness.