Decent work will help women, says ILO
To mark International Women’s Day (8 March) the International Labour Organisation has issued a call for greater access to jobs and decent work for women.
“Access to labour markets and decent employment is crucial to achieving gender equality,” said Evy Messell, Director of the ILO’s Bureau for Gender Equality.
“Societies cannot afford to ignore the potential of female labour in reducing poverty and the need to search for innovative ways of lowering economic, social and political barriers. Providing women an equal footing in the workplace is not just right, but smart.”
More women are working than ever before and the service sector is now their prime employer - but they are more likely to get low productivity, low paid and vulnerable jobs - with no social protection, basic rights or a voice at work, says a new report published by the ILO (Global Employment Trends for women - March 2008).
Broadening access for women to employment in more industries and occupations will be important to enhancing opportunities for them in the labour market, says the report.
The global unemployment rate for women is 6.4% compared to 5.7% for men. But for every 100 men at work there are less than 70 women.
The female employment to population ration is 49.1% as opposed to 74.3% for men.
“Remaining outside the labour force is often not a choice but an imposition. It is likely that women would opt for remunerated work outside the home if it became acceptable to do so,” says the report.
More women are gaining access to education, but equality in education is still far from a reality in some regions.
The ILO spotlights the economic success of East Asia in the last decade - which has the highest employment-to-population ratio for women (65.2%), low unemployment rates for both men and women and relatively small gender gaps in sectoral as well as status distribution.
“By promoting decent work for women, we are empowering societies and advancing the cause of economic and social development for all,” said ILO Director General Juan Somavia.