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A Feminist Political Economy of Trade
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06 October 2026

Providing a comprehensive feminist political economy analysis of gender and global trade, this book challenges existing approaches to gender in global trade governance that prioritise market-based solutions to inequality.
The authors reveal how the power dynamics shaping trade governance unfold on gendered terrain. Tracing the emergence of gender mainstreaming in trade and its implementation in digital and food trade, they caution that dominant ‘free trade feminist’ approaches risk perpetuating gender-based and intersectional inequalities.
Weaving rigorous academic theory with cutting-edge policy analysis, they disrupt conventional wisdom about women’s empowerment in trade and establish a feminist research agenda for transformative trade governance.
“As the hegemony of trade liberalization breaks down, this book points to ways in which we might press for forms of international trade that are oriented to well-being rather than profit." Diane Elson, University of Essex
Adrienne Roberts is Senior Lecturer in International Politics at the University of Manchester and Director of the Political Economy Centre.
Silke Trommer is Senior Lecturer in Comparative Public Policy at the University of Manchester and Director of the Manchester Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence.
1. Introduction: Troubling the Gender and Trade Agenda in Global Governance
2. Gender, Inequality and Global Trade
3. The Rise of Free Trade Feminism
4. Food Trade
5. Digital Trade
6. Conclusion: Beyond Free Trade Feminism