Arancha Gonzalez

“Our main aim globally is to connect more women to the economy because we know there is a specific market failure there: women are having more difficulty in business than men.”

“I think that when voters react negatively to trade and investment, they are really expressing their angst about the pace of technological change.”

“Women are the half of the engine of our societies; they are half of the engines of our economies.”

“You only have a problem when you admit you have a problem.”

“It has been proven through studies by the World Bank and others that companies participating in international trade are more competitive.”

“Ever since the first power looms put weavers out of work in the late 18th century, technology has increased productivity but threatened jobs for humans.”

“China has proven that the wellbeing of citizens in a country doesn't necessarily contradict its engagement globally.”

“Japan has huge potential in women - potential, especially in the area of the economy, that Japan is not using fully.”

“Entrepreneurs - both women and men - need equal and fair access to finance - to create new businesses, to reach to new markets, and to adapt to climate change.”

“In my job, as head of the International Trade Centre, I have the privilege to meet entrepreneurs from across the world almost on a daily basis.”

“Through the SITA initiative, we are building bridges between India and East Africa by taking Indian companies to these countries to see with their own eyes what the opportunities are.”

“Economic policy that adheres to the tenets of orthodoxy while failing to deliver for large sections of society is doomed to fail.”

“We often run the risk, when discussing women empowerment, to think that this is about women talking about women with other women, but this is not the point.”

“African pressure has led the E.U. to rethink part of its agricultural subsidy programme.”

“Everything we produce and consume has an impact on the environment, on social fabrics, and on the economy. This impact can be positive or negative and, frequently, some combination of the two.”

“Predictably, open markets made it possible for countries to drive rapid growth by hitching their wagon to the world economy and using global demand to pull people and resources out of subsistence activities into more productive work.”

“Creating large numbers of decent jobs for young people is critical for achieving overall development objectives, from poverty reduction to better health and education.”

“I have been talking to trade ministers in various countries who all say that gender inclusivity is important to them. We need to make this importance visible to the rest of the world and catalyse action towards more inclusive trade.”

“Technology is making it easier for women to connect to business opportunities around the world. Legal obstacles must not be allowed to stand in their way. That's not just because it's economically smart. It's because discrimination shouldn't be the law.”

“Inward-looking unilateral trade policies invite retaliation.”