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Work towards
gender equality at the workplace and in society is a crucial principle
in the
organizing and growth of trade unions. The
International Labour Organization (ILO) supports this work through
international labour standards, education and the creation of training
material. Some facts:
§
Women
are a large and growing part of the world-wide work force. Around
45% of women aged 15-64 have jobs or are job seekers. In 2007 about 1.2
billion
women were either employed or looking for work.
§
Priority
areas for action for trade unions are: more and better jobs for
women; gender issues in collective bargaining; equal pay for work of
equal
value; access for women to promotion; gender awareness for men and
women union
members and employers; combating violence against women at work;
life-long
education for women, in particular vocational training.
§
Unions
need women as
much as women need unions. Organising women workers in both the formal
and
informal sectors is a high priority for the International Trade Union
Confederation (the ITUC) and the Global Unions as well as unions all
around the
worId.
§
Ensuring
the full
integration of women into trade unions and promote gender parity in
activities
and decision-making at all levels is one of the constitutional aims of
the ITUC.
The
International Trade Union Confederation
The ITUC is the
organization which represents national trade unions globally. It works
closely
with the Global Unions which are international associations of labour
organizations in a particular sector such as metal work, textiles,
education or
public services.
Gender
equality is such an
important principle for the ITUC that one of the first Action
Programmes it
adopted after it was created in 2006 was to promote gender equality in
the
workplace. It states quite clearly that the ITUC believes in parity
between women and men in every workplace, at all levels of
society, and in trade unions themselves.
Achieving equality between men and
women is not a “woman’s” concern, but is fundamental to the aims of all
trade
unionists. Dynamic measures that target women are required in order to
redress
existing discrimination and change attitudes and conditions in the
unions and
by the unions. There is also a need for measures to both increase
awareness
among women and to enable them to reconcile work with their personal
and family
life, while also allowing men to spend time with their families and
share
family responsibilities
There
are seven major areas where women’s rights must be defended and
enhanced worldwide: education and training; employment and equal pay;
social
protection with particular focus on maternity protection and access to
health
care; family responsibilities; harassment and violence against women;
freedom of
association; and integration into trade unions.
The ITUC’s Action Programme is having significant
effects as unions around the world work at implementing it. The call to action address a number of issues,
including:
Organizing
women workers
Making
the trade union movement strong means organising workers into unions. Strategies should be developed to organise and
represent women. Increasing numbers of women are entering the labour
market and
joining unions. Organising and representing women working in the
formal,
traditional sectors should extend to women in the informal economy,
export
processing zones, young women, migrant women, women from ethnic
minorities,
women in rural and urban areas, teleworking and home-based workers,
domestic
workers, single working mothers, and women in short-term employment,
temporary,
casual, low paid jobs and other workers vulnerable to exploitation, by
helping
them to identify and meet their own needs through solidarity action. By
addressing the needs of all working people, unions become stronger and
truly
representative.
Organising
women requires making women’s issues top priority on the trade union
agenda,
including gender in all policies, programmes and activities and
ensuring equal
access for women to decision-making positions. Women will be attracted
to
membership if they see that unions work for women in practice,
addressing their
issues and representing them.
Trade
union organisations should use organising methods suited to the needs
of women,
and their local conditions. For example, meeting places should be safe
and
convenient; the timing, agenda and duration of meetings should take
account of
workers’ family responsibilities; and, if necessary, care arranged for
young
children.
Women
should be equal members
Women’s
organising programmes should be supported by trade union leaders and
trade
union action policies promoting equal rights for women in all areas, in
particular in the economic, social and trade union fields.
Special
bodies/structures (such as women’s committees, women’s departments or
task
forces, women’s groups and women’s networks) are needed at different
levels of
trade unions to examine the problems facing women workers and make
proposals
for eliminating discrimination, encouraging women’s participation,
promoting
equal opportunities and monitoring the advancement of gender equality
in trade
unions. These bodies/structures should have the power to take
initiatives,
liaise with other groups of members, and input directly into
decision-making.
Joint action in cooperation with women's organisations should be a
means to
achieve common objectives
Women
should participate in unions equally
Women,
whether
organised into unions or not, will make their own judgement about trade
unions
based on their performance, including the extent to which women
participate in
trade union decision-making. The number of women holding union office
should at least correspond to
the percentage of women members (proportionality).
7. /Positive action
is needed to overcome direct and indirect discrimination against women
taking up leadership positions in trade unions. This requires:
•
strong
commitment from trade union leaders;
•
transparent
budgets for gender initiatives in trade unions;
•
implementing
intensive training programmes to prepare women for leadership positions;
•
collection of
separate statistics on male and female membership, on their
participation
in
all trade union activities and on the
representation of women and men in decision making
bodies;
•
reporting on
progress in policies and measures, supported by facts and figures, be
made to
Congresses;
•
examining
structures and removing obstacles that prevent women taking leadership
roles,
and ensuring they are at least
proportionately represented at all levels, if necessary
through the creation of
additional
seats (which should carry equal rights and responsibilities) or
co-option;
•
giving
statutory status to women’s structures; providing special budgets and
adequate
working
conditions and
logistical support;
•
establishing a
standing committee within unions to promote the gender equality and
recruitment
policy;
•
inclusion of
women unionists in trade union delegations to meetings, conferences and
missions at
national, regional and international levels; including to international
financial nd
economic
institutions and bodies;
•
introducing minimum target,
starting at 30% for women’s participation, and a parity target,
at all trade
union levels;
•
introducing, reserved
seats, quotas or other transitional measures in trade union
decision-making bodies
where parity has not been achieved;
•
transparency in nominating
women to consultative and decision-making bodies;
•
supporting women by extra
training, childcare or the sharing of family responsibilities;
•
making full use of women
trade unionists’ skills in all areas of activity;
•
inclusion
of women in negotiating committees/teams at all levels and gender
dimension in
all items of the bargaining agenda.
Training and
communication for gender equality
Men and women in trade unions
should accept, practise and disseminate the principle of equal rights
and
opportunities between men and women, including women who return to work
after a
career break. Gender awareness training as well as practical training
on gender
mainstreaming should be part and parcel of all trade union education
programmes
and activities, at all levels. All general trade union training should
include
an element on equal opportunities and gender issues, especially equal
pay.
All
trade union literature
and educational material should present the image of women workers and
their
economic role in a positive manner.
Trade
unions should carry
out research into the working conditions of women, to help them respond
more
effectively to women workers’ needs. Trade union research should be
disseminated to policy makers and other stakeholders to ensure a wider
understanding of the gender and decent work agenda.
Training
programmes
catering especially for women are needed in many trade union
organisations to
encourage women members and help them to express themselves and their
own
demands. It is very important that more women should receive training
without
loss of pay.
Trade
unions should fight
for educational leave where it has not yet become a right, and
encourage women to
take it up.
Educational
activities
should be tailored to the time women have available and, where
necessary, childcare
should be provided.
Internal
trade union procedures
Trade
unions should:
•
Develop equal employment, recruitment and training guidelines to ensure
that
they are not inadvertently
discriminatory and that they reflect the diversity of their membership
with the
aim of gender parity;
•
Elaborate equality plans for the unions;
•
Undertake gender-impact assessment of all
internal policies and programmes in order to
ensure
gender mainstreaming;
•
Carry out a gender audit of the trade union organisation, including
gender-budgeting.
Gender
equality and the ILO
The
primary goal of the ILO is to promote opportunities for women and men
to obtain
decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security
and human
dignity. Thus, ILO considers gender equality as a key element in its
vision of decent work for
all women and men for social and institutional change to
bring about
equity and growth.
The
main
focus or thematic areas of the ILO on gender equality coincide with the
organization's four strategic goals, which are to: promote fundamental
principles and rights at work; create greater employment and income
opportunities for women and men; enhance the coverage and effectiveness
of
social protection; and strengthen social dialogue and tripartism.
Non-discrimination
and promoting equality have been fundamental
principles underpinningthe work of the International Labour
Organization (ILO)
since its creation in 1919. These principles are also an integral
component of
the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda: promoting decent and productive work in
conditions
of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. All workers have the
right to
decent work, not only those working in the formal economy, but also the
self-employed, casual and informal economy workers, as well as those,
predominantly women, working in the care
economy and private households.
International
Labour Standards (Conventions and Recommendations) are one
of the ILOs primary means of action to improve working and living
conditions of
women and men, and promote equality in the workplace for all workers.
ILO
standards apply equally to women and men, with some exceptions, in
particular
those standards addressing issues relating to maternity and women’s
reproductive role. However, there continues to be a gap between the
rights set
out in national and international standards and the real situation of
workers.
These rights must be made effective in practice. A major obstacle
preventing
workers from exercising their rights is a lack of awareness of their
existence.
Dissemination of information about these rights is, therefore, a vital
instrument
for improving gender equality.
While
progress has been achieved in the ratification of the fundamental
standards promoting equality between women and men and their
translation into
national law, gender issues also need to be taken into account in the
application of other ILO standards. Gender mainstreaming in the
application of
International Labour Standards:
• helps to ensure that women and men have equal
access to benefits derived from these
standards;
•
recognizes the needs, experiences and interests
of both women and men;
• enables
stakeholders to manage change;
•
demonstrates a willingness to undertake
differential measures to respond to the needs
and interests
of men and women; and
•
advocates equality brought about by the
implementation of Conventions.
ILO instruments for promoting gender equality
The four
international labour Conventions of the ILO recognized as the
key equality Conventions are:
•
Discrimination
(Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111)
•
Equal
Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100)
•
Workers
with Family Responsibilities Convention,
1981 (No. 156);
•
the
Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No.
183).
The rights
and principles set out in the fundamental Conventions, are
also reflected in the 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and
Rights at
Work. The Declaration provides that “all Members, even if they have not
ratified the Conventions in question, have an obligation, arising from
the very
fact of membership in the Organization, to respect, to promote and to
realize,
in good faith, and in accordance with the Constitution, the principles
concerning the fundamental rights which are the subject of those
Conventions, namely:
(a) freedom
of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective
bargaining;
(b)
the
elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour;
(c)
the
effective abolition of child labour; and
(d)
the
elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.”
Other
Conventions with particular implications for gender equality
include those on employment promotion, working conditions, and migrant
workers.
In fact, the gender implications of all ILO standards should be
considered in
ensuring their effective application. The instruments as well as all
other ILO
Conventions and Recommendations, can be found at
www.ilo.org/ilolex/english.
This website also provides detailed information on international labour
standards,
ratification and the supervisory system.
Issues
related to gender equality
The ILO
approach to gender equality is grounded in the rights-based
argument and the economic efficiency rationale: not only is gender
equality in
the world of work a matter of human rights and justice for workers, it
also
makes good business sense for employers and is instrumental in
achieving
economic growth and poverty reduction at national levels.
Equality
of rights applies throughout life. Women and men, from their
early years through to old age, may face different manifestations of
sex
discrimination. This has clear life-cycle dimensions. More and more
governments
– as well as the social partners – are recognizing that if no remedial
action
is taken, disadvantages tend to accumulate and intensify over time and
through
generations, with negative repercussions for women, families and
societies.
Safe
maternity and health care for mother and infant survival is at the
core of life itself, for mothers, infants, communities and nations. It
is also
central to decent work and productivity for women. The integration of
maternity
protection as part of social and economic policy is recognized in all
regions.
Maternity protection has two aims. First, it preserves the special
relationship
and the health of the mother and her newborn. Second, it provides a
measure of
job security, crucial for protecting pregnant workers and mothers.
Pregnancy or
motherhood should not constitute a source of discrimination in access
to
training, skills development and employment.
Having
to work is one of the biggest obstacles to a decent childhood.
Where poverty and discrimination prevail, so can child labour. Children
may be
freed from poverty and economic and social marginalization through
education.
Evidence from a range of countries shows that educating girls is one of
the
most effective ways of fighting poverty. Educated girls are more likely
to have
higher incomes and increased control over resources as adults, marry
later,
have fewer and healthier children and exercise
greater decision-making power within the household. Importantly, they
are also more
likely to ensure that their own children are educated, thus increasing
their
earnings, avoiding future child labour and breaking the cycle of
poverty.
Much
action has to be taken to avoid exacerbating growing youth
unemployment and working poverty. Sex is
not an indicator of competence, and the decision to recruit, train or
promote
young women and men should always be based on reasons such as skills
and the
inherent requirements of the job. It is now widely accepted that
long-term investments
in human capital play a key role in enhancing productivity and growth.
Ensuring
that adolescent and young girls are provided with quality formal and
non-formal
education programmes is essential.
Young
women and men need to be made aware of their rights, including
freedom of association and collective bargaining as means for attaining
decent
work. For both adult men and women, pursuing decent work, providing and
caring
for family members, as well as fulfilling obligations to enterprises,
communities and societies, is a tall order indeed. Women experience
systemic
barriers in almost every aspect of work – this ranges from whether they
have
paid work at all (full time or part
time); the
type of work they obtain or are excluded from; the availability of
supports such
as childcare; their pay, benefits and conditions of work; their access
to
higher paying “male” occupations; the insecurity of their jobs or
enterprises;
the absence of pension entitlements or benefits; and the lack of the
time,
resources or information necessary to enforce their rights.
Changing
the gender division of labour in the household to a more
equitable distribution of tasks, as well as investing in labour-saving
technology,
can have a significant impact on productivity. Men stand to gain in
dual-income
partnerships through better work/family balance, improved contact with
children
and inclusion in family life, as well as less vulnerability to economic
shocks.
Longevity
is one of the most positive and relevant demographic phenomena
to emerge in recent decades, and a fundamental policy objective is to
build
societies fit for people of all ages. The ageing of populations and the
new
inter-generational relationships radically affect the human landscape
and
decent work. The ILO emphasizes that adequate employment policies,
human
resource development and lifelong learning are crucial in maximizing
the
potential of older women and men. The gender dimension of older
workers’ labour
force participation has been an important feature in employment
policies
targeting this age group. The shortfall in women’s economic
participation and earnings
means that they are inevitably at an economic disadvantage in old age.
If and when
better-educated women enter the labour force in greater numbers, and
earn equal
pay for work of equal value, they will be able to provide for
themselves.
Tripartism
ILO action over the last decades has focused on the voice
and visibility
of women of
all ages in the world of work. Tripartism and social dialogue are
essential if real
progress is to be made in attaining gender equality. Increasing the
institutional capacity of
member States, as well as of representative organizations of employers
and workers, to
facilitate meaningful and coherent social dialogue on gender equality
will be necessary
to mark an improvement in current practices. It is not only a matter of
national gender machineries being more sensitive to world of work
issues. It is
also essential that national social dialogue institutions increase
women’s
membership, and address gender concerns more seriously their policies
and
programmes
By leveraging social dialogue for gender equality,
political leadership can be
influenced. First, an increase in the participation and status of women
in the dialogue
processes is necessary. Second, there is the challenge of introducing a
gender perspective
into the content of the issues on the social dialogue agenda, so as to
reflect the
changing nature of labour markets and patterns in the world of work.
Discussion
Questions
How can
the
work of the ITUC and Global Unions in supporting gender equality be
implemented
in your country?
How can
International Labour Conventions and other instruments of the ILO be
used to
support efforts to promote gender
equality
References
More information about how the
international labour movement and the ILO are supporting gender
equality can be
found at:
The
International Trade Union Confederation
http://www.ituc-csi.org/spip.php?rubrique8
The ILO’s
Bureau for Gender Equality
http://www.ilo.org/gender/lang--en/index.htm
Gender
and Non-Discrimination Programme of the ILO’s International Training
Centre
http://www.itcilo.org/en/training-areas/gender-coordination-unit
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