Abstract
The East and Southern Africa (ESA) region continues to lag in gender equality, with women remaining largely underrepresented in leadership and high-status positions compared to their sisters in other world regions. This is even though the three Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in ESA have all made efforts at incorporating gender perspectives in their customs and trade policies. This article explores the gender gap in customs and trade across ESA and concludes that the region’s member countries stand to benefit from improved organisational performance and increased global competitiveness by integrating gender perspectives in their customs and trade operations.