The hidden links of trade: mapping female and male workforce in global value chains

Ricardo Chiapin Pechansky, Norihiko Yamano and Peter Horvát

Economic Systems Research, 2026, vol. 38, issue 1, 141-162

Abstract: Global value chain integration creates economic opportunities but also uneven impacts across firms and workers. Responding to rising demand for data-driven insights on these dynamics, this paper presents new evidence on the connections between jobs held by women and men and global production networks. Using harmonised inter-country input–output and labour data for 43 countries, we introduce a new database that disaggregates employment and labour compensation in global value chains by gender. We show that, in most OECD economies, women are concentrated in non-tradable services, which can mask their true exposure to trade. Through upstream and downstream linkages, women also indirectly contribute to trade by providing inputs to the tradable sectors. This has important implications for understanding gender-related effects of trade shocks, wage gaps, and inclusive-growth policies. Under a harmonised framework, the dataset equips policymakers with tools to design evidence-based strategies that strengthen women’s economic empowerment in an interconnected world.

Date: 2026
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DOI: 10.1080/09535314.2025.2600027

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