Engendering E-Commerce Legislation in China
The process: The government has asked the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) to undertake project to bring together officials and experts from leading e-commerce countries, both for virtual dialogue and for an eventual round table to discuss the key issues regarding best practice in national e-commerce regulation. It is expected that among these issues there are gender issues to also be explored and IDLO has asked UN Women for its views. A lack of data on e-commerce disaggregated by gender renders the current picture unclear.
Your inputs: This query serves to broaden the consultations with stakeholders around the world to share their experiences, good practice and lessons learned on gender-responsive e-commerce law and regulations that could be shared and replicated. What are the issues regarding gender and e-commerce in your country and how can law and the regulatory framework respond to them?
In order to empower women economically it is important that the government of China involve women in policy making concerning e-commerce, encourage women participation in e-commerce by lowering the taxes and any other required charges for female investors, create a platform to educate female investors on how to get involved in e-commerce, the Government of China can also get the women involved by offering loans to female investors at lower interest rates.
Greetings,
The following compilation has been prepared by the ABA-UNDP International Legal Resource Center (ILRC) in response to the e-discussion on engendering e-commerce legislation in China. This report includes the professional views of three experts. They have shared this feedback on behalf of the ILRC, but in their own capacity.
Please let me know if the ILRC can be of further assistance to you in connection with this e-discussion or with other recruitments of experts for particular in-country projects or more elaborate reviews of draft or current legislation. I look forward to hearing from you.
Jacqueline
Jacqueline Gichinga
Senior International Program Associate
ABA-UNDP International Legal Resource Center (ILRC)
T: +1-202-662-1662
http://ambar.org/ilrc
Jacqueline.Gichinga@americanbar.org
Skype: jgichinga
All the laws (and the international rules) can respond to the gender problem and e-commerce, in the situation where all the democracy system is transparent or fair. We should note that all the interventions can succeed, in the situation where the donors are able to integrate women into micro business projects. Three things can be noted: the Rule of law or democracy; secondly, Investiments to women; and thirdly, special knowledge to women, not only skills of business.
By special knowledge , we mean: the mental intelligence and intellect. At least Women should be taught how to think and reason (in philosophy). How can this be possible? some short intensive courses can be designed and presented to women in the women. All the womern, in the world , should be able to relie on theirs thoughts and instincts more than they relie on the thoughts of me. They should know how think out problems
I have consulted with colleagues at UNCTAD - which works on these issues - and they were not aware of any such examples. However I did find the following from the UK which raises some gender issues to be considered in their e-commerce legislation and work. Perhaps these are dimensions that you may consider. I will keep looking but wanted to share this for now... Jennifer (UN Women, ICT for Development)
Reflections from the UK Parliament on e-commerce and gender dimensions:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199900/ldselect/ldeucom/95/9511.htm
Harmful Content
Harmful content eg pornography. Various organisations have been set up to monitor the availability of this sort of material on the Internet.[114] They have built up valuable expertise. US witnesses pointed out that while the Internet has created problems it has also provided solutions: the recovery rate of missing and exploited children is now much improved.[115]
We recommend that the United Kingdom Government take advantage of the expertise which exists in certain independent monitoring organisations to address the issue of harmful content. However, we also recommend that the Government takes steps to ensure that such organisations conform to the principles of good regulation as laid down by the Cabinet Office's Better Regulation Task Force.
Section on e-commerce and digital divide issues
[Personal Note: this disproportionately effects women; including questions as to whether e-commerce will contribute to gender gaps as part of the digital divide]
Section on Capacities
279. We recommend that the United Kingdom Government should identify the needs for continued training and personal e-commerce development after school, especially for those who do not immediately secure a job or take a job which does not involve e-commerce. They should then work with other groups, such as the private sector, schools and voluntary groups, to ensure that appropriate training is made available.
[Personal Note: Access to technology training and skills in schools or elsewhere is very gendered and this is the kind of issue where attention could be drawn to this]
280. The digital divide also seems to be gender based. Evidence to the Sub-Committee has shown a disparity between male and female use of the Internet.
281. We recommend that the United Kingdom Government consider working with women's groups, such as the National Women's Commission, to achieve balanced usage of the Internet.
E-commerce is a new pattern of economic business patterns at the global level in the age of information and technology developed which removed geographical boundaries and spacers .
Information Technology has contributed in bringing about a quantum leap in the field of modern communications and the exchange of information between members of the same society , as well as between other communities , and contributed to the development of the business environment in both public and private .
As a result of the evolution of the technical , moved many of the industrial establishments , service and banks to create sites on the Internet for several objectives , the most important practices of all business processes, was the commodity or service , online , in what is known as " e-commerce " .
Due to this link between ICT and e-commerce , worked various countries, especially developed for the care and development of e-commerce sector , and sought to remove obstacles that may face dealing with this type of trade , where initiated many countries special laws to protect the parties to the process of e-business and save their rights.
In the Arab countries - including Palestine - , has faced many of the e-commerce challenges and obstacles . Despite the different conditions in Palestine from Arab countries , however, trade in all the Arab countries have not reached the limits of competition with developed countries , there is still the proportion of sites and Arab companies electronic low.