Timor-Leste’s trade ambitions hinge on women’s economic participation
The Southeast Asian country has opened its doors to new regional and global trade opportunities, but realizing their full benefits requires women’s greater participation in the economy, supported by policy reforms.
3 MIN READ
NEWS UPDATE
TIMOR-LESTE
6 OCTOBER 2026
As Timor-Leste prepares to enter a deeper phase of economic integration, a new report by the International Trade Centre (ITC) argues that the country’s future growth will depend on how effectively it brings women into the heart of its trade agenda.
Policy Insights on Women and Trade: Timor-Leste, released through ITC’s SheTrades Outlook initiative, outlines how the country can use its recent accessions to the World Trade Organization and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to diversify its export base and unlock women’s economic potential. The report highlights these accessions as a pivotal moment in the country’s economic trajectory and an opportunity for inclusive development.
For one of the world’s youngest nations, these milestones open the door to broader trade partnerships, new markets, and a more predictable environment for private-sector development. But these opportunities will only translate into meaningful gains for women-led businesses if gender-responsive policies and tailored support ensure women’s full engagement in international value chains, the report notes.
‘These are not easy times for global trade, nor for efforts around the world to make economies more inclusive,’ says ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton. ‘That is precisely why now is the time to scale up efforts that support women’s economic empowerment and ensure that the progress made towards greater equality and more resilient prosperity is not lost.’
Policy Insights on Women and Trade: Timor-Leste, released through ITC’s SheTrades Outlook initiative, outlines how the country can use its recent accessions to the World Trade Organization and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to diversify its export base and unlock women’s economic potential. The report highlights these accessions as a pivotal moment in the country’s economic trajectory and an opportunity for inclusive development.
For one of the world’s youngest nations, these milestones open the door to broader trade partnerships, new markets, and a more predictable environment for private-sector development. But these opportunities will only translate into meaningful gains for women-led businesses if gender-responsive policies and tailored support ensure women’s full engagement in international value chains, the report notes.
‘These are not easy times for global trade, nor for efforts around the world to make economies more inclusive,’ says ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton. ‘That is precisely why now is the time to scale up efforts that support women’s economic empowerment and ensure that the progress made towards greater equality and more resilient prosperity is not lost.’
Taking stock of the current landscape
Drawing on data from 16 national institutions and two private-sector organizations, the paper assesses progress across six pillars: trade policy, legal and regulatory frameworks, business environment, access to skills, access to finance, and work and society. It finds that Timor-Leste has laid important groundwork. National strategies reflect gender considerations, laws guarantee equal rights and protections, and institutions offer business support services, training programmes, and digital financial tools.
Yet challenges remain. Gender-disaggregated data are inconsistently collected, gender is not yet mainstreamed in trade policy and agreements, and public procurement processes are not designed to actively include women-led firms. Access to finance also remains uneven, with few trade-finance schemes tailored to women exporters.
Yet challenges remain. Gender-disaggregated data are inconsistently collected, gender is not yet mainstreamed in trade policy and agreements, and public procurement processes are not designed to actively include women-led firms. Access to finance also remains uneven, with few trade-finance schemes tailored to women exporters.
Closing the gaps through targeted measures
The report outlines a series of reforms that could help close these gaps. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry can support women-led businesses’ entry and integration into global value chains through technical assistance and targeted training.
Policymakers must negotiate and sign more trade agreements, engage women’s business groups such as the Timor-Leste Businesswomen Association in consultations, include gender provisions, and conduct ex-ante and ex-post gender impact assessments to ensure that women benefit from the growing export sector and the opportunities arising from greater trade integration. The report also recommends adopting a standard definition of women-led businesses and strengthening staff capacity to apply it, which would help create more consistent policy implementation and reporting.
Other recommendations focus on Customs procedures, public procurement, and targeted training. Training Customs officials to identify gender-specific barriers, consolidating and publishing public procurement tenders, and providing targeted training to women-led businesses on skills, entrepreneurship, and exporting would help build a more inclusive trade and business ecosystem.
Financial institutions also have a role to play. The report calls for trade-finance schemes such as export guarantees and letters of credit and venture-capital programmes to support women-led start-ups. Embedding gender considerations into national innovation initiatives, including Timor Digital 2032, could further strengthen women’s entrepreneurship.
As Timor-Leste steps onto a larger global stage, the report’s message is clear: sustained growth will depend not only on new trade agreements, but on who gets to benefit from them.
Policymakers must negotiate and sign more trade agreements, engage women’s business groups such as the Timor-Leste Businesswomen Association in consultations, include gender provisions, and conduct ex-ante and ex-post gender impact assessments to ensure that women benefit from the growing export sector and the opportunities arising from greater trade integration. The report also recommends adopting a standard definition of women-led businesses and strengthening staff capacity to apply it, which would help create more consistent policy implementation and reporting.
Other recommendations focus on Customs procedures, public procurement, and targeted training. Training Customs officials to identify gender-specific barriers, consolidating and publishing public procurement tenders, and providing targeted training to women-led businesses on skills, entrepreneurship, and exporting would help build a more inclusive trade and business ecosystem.
Financial institutions also have a role to play. The report calls for trade-finance schemes such as export guarantees and letters of credit and venture-capital programmes to support women-led start-ups. Embedding gender considerations into national innovation initiatives, including Timor Digital 2032, could further strengthen women’s entrepreneurship.
As Timor-Leste steps onto a larger global stage, the report’s message is clear: sustained growth will depend not only on new trade agreements, but on who gets to benefit from them.