Gender and Regionalization in North America: From NAFTA to CUSMA and Beyond?

ABSTRACT

The literature on world regions is largely gender-blind. This article suggests ways in which the study of regionalism can incorporate gender analysis, based on the case of North America. It argues that this can be done in three ways through an examination of the gendered impact of regional integration; through an examination of how gender concerns are, or can be, mainstreamed into regional policies; and through research on new forms of feminist-inspired activism that may shape regional outcomes. After applying these perspectives to the case of North America and the new Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, it argues that despite the failure of the Canadian government to achieve the inclusion of a gender chapter, the inclusion of language around gender discrimination in the labour chapter makes the new agreement a more effective (if still limited) tool for promotion of some forms of gender equality.