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Women celebrate their day
According to a Statement by the International Labour Organization
Director General Guy Ryder (ILO), delivered on the occasion of
International Women’s Day, there has been notable progress in the area
of national legislation with most countries having incorporated the
principles of equality and non-discrimination.
Many governments have adopted active labour market policies to
tackle discrimination against women and a growing number of employers’
and workers’ organizations are implementing initiatives on equal
opportunity and treatment.
A number of individual women have managed to advance and to break through the glass ceiling.
At the same time, stubborn and often profound gaps persist.
Progress in increasing women’s labour market participation has been
uneven according to our 2014 Global Employment Trends Report.
In developed economies, women are expected to benefit less from the
timid recovery projected in the medium-term – their unemployment rates
will only gradually decline to 8.2 per cent in 2018, whereas for men it
is projected to drop to 7.6 per cent.
In North Africa women’s labour market participation rates in 2013
were barely 25 per cent, and in the Middle East not even 20 per cent.
Occupational sex-segregation and gender pay gaps persist. Women are
over-represented in the informal economy, precarious work, and in
low-paid jobs.
For example in South-East Asia and the Pacific, vulnerable
employment in 2013 affected women most (63.1 per cent as compared to 56
per cent for men). In the formal economy women’s share of
decision-making posts remains low notwithstanding a pool of talent.
Services to assist women and men in balancing work and family
responsibilities – particularly state-funded and quality childcare – are
unavailable or inaccessible for many. Such care still largely falls on
the shoulders of girls and women.
Moreover, a large majority of women lack access to quality maternal
and infant health care and other maternity protection measures –
effectively penalizing them for their reproductive role.
Risks and opportunities for women often vary depending on their
colour, religion, social origin or skill levels. Women do not constitute
a homogenous group.
Consequently it is also important to look both at how different
groups fare in the labour market and how they and women generally fare
relative to their male peers.
The rights of girls and women are often subordinated; their
economic and social contribution often undervalued and their perceived
inequality compared to men sometimes regarded as immutable.
Not surprisingly, their work is also simply invisible – physically
as in the case of domestic workers for example working behind closed
doors. Or they may simply be absent from the data – which perpetuates
their inequality.
It is time to do better
Keeping on top of such issues is especially important in the
context of an increasingly interconnected global economy,
rapidly-changing labour markets, the impact of migration and challenges
to the universality of rights and standards.
The ILO is renewing its own efforts to establish a solid
information base that will be a shared resource to inform future action.
With sound knowledge to back up evidence-based arguments, declarations
and policies on gender equality will have far better prospects of
translating into change for the better in the lives of many more working
women. And this, we know, also means stronger families and communities
and ultimately businesses and economies.
Today we recognize the valuable and indispensable contribution of
women in the world of work. We join our efforts with all who are
striving for gender equality: it is also our common challenge to ensure
mutually reinforcing action to secure steady progress to this goal.
What is the International Women’s Day?
International Women's Day is celebrated in many countries around
the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements
without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic,
cultural, economic or political.
It is an occasion for looking back on past struggles and
accomplishments, and more importantly, for looking ahead to the untapped
potential and opportunities that await future generations of women.
In 1975, during International Women's Year, the United Nations
began celebrating International Women's Day on 8 March. Two years later,
in December 1977, the General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming
a United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace to be
observed on any day of the year by Member States, in accordance with
their historical and national traditions.
In adopting its resolution, the General Assembly recognized the
role of women in peace efforts and development and urged an end to
discrimination and an increase of support for women's full and equal
participation.
International Women's Day first emerged from the activities of
labour movements at the turn of the twentieth century in North America
and across Europe.
1909: The first National Woman's Day was observed in the United
States on 28 February. The Socialist Party of America designated this
day in honour of the 1908 garment workers' strike in New York, where
women protested against working conditions.
The United Nations and Gender Equality
The Charter of the United Nations, signed in 1945, was the first
international agreement to affirm the principle of equality between
women and men. Since then, the UN has helped create a historic legacy of
internationally-agreed strategies, standards, programmes and goals to
advance the status of women worldwide.
Over the years, the UN and its technical agencies have promoted the
participation of women as equal partners with men in achieving
sustainable development, peace, security, and full respect for human
rights. The empowerment of women continues to be a central feature of
the UN's efforts to address social, economic and political challenges
across the globe.
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