More women choosing to work
Despite signs of progress in gender equality over the past 15 years,
there is still a significant gap between women and men in terms of job
opportunities and quality of employment, according to a new report by
the International Labour Office (ILO).
The report, entitled Women in labour markets: Measuring progress and
identifying challenges, says that more than a decade after the fourth
World Conference on Women in Beijing adopted an ambitious global
platform for action on gender equality and women’s empowerment, gender
biases remain deeply embedded in society and the labour market.
Women at work |
The ILO report shows that the rate of female labour force
participation has increased from 50.2 to 51.7 percent between 1980 and
2008, while the male rate decreased slightly from 82.0 to 77.7 percent.
As a result, the gender gap in labour force participation rates has
narrowed from 32 to 26 percentage points.
The increases in female participation were seen in all but two
regions, Central and South-Eastern Europe (non-EU), and the CIS
countries and East Asia, with the largest gain seen in Latin America and
the Caribbean.
In almost all regions, though, the rate of increase has slowed in
recent years.
It was in the 1980s and early ‘90s that gains in numbers of
economically active women were strongest. At the same time, the share of
women in wage and salaried work has grown from 42.8 percent in 1999 to
47.3 percent in 2009, and the share of vulnerable employment decreased
from 55.9 percent to 51.2 percent.
“While there have been areas of improvement since the Beijing
conference and more women are choosing to work, they still don’t enjoy
the same gains as men in the labour markets”, Sara Elder of the ILO’s
Employment Trends unit and main author of the report said.
“We still find many more women than men taking up low-pay and
precarious work, either because this is the only type of job made
available to them or because they need to find something that allows
them to balance work and family responsibilities. Men do not face these
same constraints.”
The report shows that there are three basic areas of lingering gender
imbalances in the world of work. First, nearly half (48.4 percent) of
the female population above the age of 15 remain economically inactive,
compared to 22.3 percent for men.
In some regions, there are still less than 4 economically active
women per 10 active men.
Second, women who do want to work have a harder time than men in
finding work.
And third, when women do find work, they receive less pay and
benefits than the male workers in similar positions.
“Labour markets and policies must be much more attuned to a broader
paradigm of gender equality, one that adapts and builds on the unique
values and constraints of both women and men,” Elder said.
“Faster and broader progress towards equality in occupations and
employment opportunities is required and possible”.
The ILO report says the initial impact of the global economic crisis
was felt in sectors dominated by men, such as finance, manufacturing and
construction, but the impact has since expanded to other sectors -
including services - where women tend to predominate.
The ILO estimates that the global female unemployment rate increased
from 6.0 percent in 2007 to 7.0 percent in 2009, slightly more than the
male rate which rose from 5.5 to 6.3 percent.
But in four of the nine regions, it was the male unemployment rate
that rose more than the female.
In 2009, female unemployment rates were higher than male rates in
seven of nine regions, and in the Middle East and North Africa the
difference was as high as 7 percentage points.
The report also says that while women and men workers may now be
almost equally affected by the crisis in terms of job losses, the real
gender impact of the crisis may be yet to come.
“We know from previous crises that female job-losers find it more
difficult to return to work as economic recovery settles in,” Elder
said. “That’s why it is important to ensure that gender equality is not
a fair weather policy aim that falls aside in the face of hard times.
It should be seen as a means to promote growth and employment rather
than as a cost or constraint”.
ILO’s Bureau for Gender Equality Director, Jane Hodges noted that the
15 years since Beijing had provided important lessons in terms of what
works for working women and gender equality.
She said the resolution on Gender Equality at the Heart of Decent
Work, adopted by the 2009 International Labour Conference, will guide
ILO constituents’ efforts towards a labour market in which all women and
men can participate freely and actively, including efforts to facilitate
women’s economic empowerment through entrepreneurship development,
address unequal remuneration between women and men, enhance social
protection for all and strengthen women’s participation in social
dialogue.
GENEVA ILO News
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