Gender equality in the world of work in Angola, Brazil, China, India and South Africa

Executive Summary The 2009 International Labour Conference, in the Conclusions from the discussion on gender equality at the heart of decent work, reaffirmed ILO’s commitments to equality between women and men in the world of work as espoused by the 2008 Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalisation. The Conclusions take particular cognisance of the impact of the global financial and economic crisis on the working lives of women and men. There is concern that crises should not be used as an excuse to create even greater inequalities nor undermine women’s acquired rights. In particular, during times of economic crisis, not respecting fundamental principles and rights at work would represent both a failure to uphold universally recognised rights and a failure of economic policy to ensure growth and recovery. These words are echoed in the Global Jobs Pact which was adopted by the International Labour Conference on 19 June 2009 and which was spoken to by a number of heads of state. The Global Jobs Pact affirms that “this current crisis should be viewed as an opportunity to shape new gender equality policy responses. Recovery packages during economic crises need to take into account the impact on women and men and integrate gender concerns in all measures. In discussions on recovery packages, both regarding their design and assessing their success, women must have an equal voice with men”. The present project document presents a proposal to support constituents in these efforts, specifically in the five countries of Angola, Brazil, China, India and South Africa. Throughout the years, ILO has gained a comparative advantage in providing knowledge and capacity building to constituents for supporting gender-sensitive policy formulation. In the context of the global financial and economic crisis, such knowledge development should centre on identifying new trends and patterns in the world of work, and links between economic efficiency, social justice and gender equality. This includes making more systematic use of sex-disaggregated data so as to inform policy formulation and new monitoring mechanisms to track achievements in gender equality, using key indicators on sex discrimination in the world of work and gender-responsive budgeting. The project document proposes outcomes that are in line with the conclusions from the 2009 general discussion on gender equality at the heart of decent work as well as with the Global Jobs Pact. The outcomes are also reflective of the outcomes of the 2010-11 Programme and Budget and ILO’s Strategic Policy Framework 2010-2015.

Project symbol

INT/09/61/NOR

Admin unit

GENDER

Start date

01/01/2010

End date

31/12/2010

Total allocation

2544073

Total expenditure

Status

Closed

2544073

Development Partners

Norway, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Country/Countries

Global

Outcomes

Discrimination at Work