|
MORE
women are working than ever before, but they are also
more likely than men to get low-productivity, low-paid
and vulnerable jobs, with no social protection, basic
rights nor voice at work, according to a new report by
the International Labour Office (ILO) issued for
International Women’s Day.
“Global
Employment trends for Women—March 2008,” released on the
occasion of International Women’s Day on Saturday, says
the number of employed women grew by almost 200 million
over the last decade, to reach 1.2 billion in 2007,
compared with 1.8 billion men.
However,
the number of unemployed women also grew from 70.2
million to 81.6 million over the same period.
“Women
continue to enter the world’s work force in great
numbers. This progress must not obscure the glaring
inequities that still exist in workplaces throughout the
world,” said ILO director general Juan Somavia. “The
workplace and the world of work are at the center of
global solutions to address gender equality and the
advancement of women in society. By promoting decent
work for women, we are empowering societies and
advancing the cause of economic and social development
for all.”
The
report shows that improvements in the status of women in
labor markets throughout the world have not
substantially narrowed gender gaps in the workplace. The
share of women in vulnerable employment—either unpaid
contributing family workers or own-account workers,
rather than wage and salaried work—decreased from 56.1
percent to 51.7 per cent since 1997. However, the burden
of vulnerability is still greater for women than men,
especially in the world’s poorest regions.
Other
key findings of the report:
§
Worldwide, the female unemployment rate stood at 6.4
percent compared with the male rate of 5.7 percent.
§
Less
than 70 women are economically active for every 100 men
globally. Remaining outside of the labor 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.
§
At the
global level, the female employment-to-population
ratio—which indicates how much economies are able to
take advantage of the productive potential of their
working-age population—was 49.1 percent in 2007 compared
with a male employment-to-population ratio of 74.3
percent.
§
Over the
past decade, the service sector has overtaken
agriculture as the prime employer of women. In 2007 36.1
percent of employed women worked in agriculture and 46.3
percent in services. In comparison, male sectoral shares
were 34 percent in agriculture and 40.4 percent in
services.
§
More
women are gaining access to education, but equality in
education is still far from reality in some regions.
New
policies for promoting female employment
THE
report points out that for many women, moving away from
vulnerable employment into wage and salaried work can be
a major step toward economic freedom and
self-determination, and that the poorer the region, the
greater the likelihood that women remain among the ranks
of the contributing family workers or own-account
workers.
Access
to labor markets and to decent and productive employment
is crucial in the process of creating greater equality
between men and women, says the report. The study
observed that the most successful region in terms of
economic growth over the last decade, East Asia, is also
the region with the highest employment-to-population
ratio for women (65.2 percent), low unemployment rates
for both women and men and relatively small gender gaps
in sectoral as well as status distribution.
Overall,
the report found that policies to enhance women’s
chances to participate equally in labor markets are
starting to pay off, but the sluggish pace of change
means that disparities are still significant. Most
regions have still a long way to go in full economic
integration of women and realizing their untapped
potential for economic development. (ILO News) |
