Post on 25-Apr-2020
GENDER EQUALITY IN THE
WORLD OF WORK: TRENDS AND
CHALLENGES IN MENA REGION
Simel Esim, Senior Technical Specialist, ILO
Presentation for Promoting Job Quality and
Productive Employment in the Middle East and
North Africa: What Works?
GENDER EQUALITY IN THE WORLD OF WORK
Equality of opportunity and treatment in employment
Equal remuneration for work of equal value
Equal access to safe and healthy working
environments and to social security
Equality in association and collective bargaining
Equality in obtaining a meaningful career
development
Balance between work and home life that is fair to
both women and men
Equal participation in decision-making, including in
the constitutive ILO organs
WOMEN HAVE BECOME MORE EDUCATED
AND MORE ECONOMICALLY ACTIVE
0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
7.00
Alger
ia
Bah
rain
Egy
ptIra
nIra
q
Jord
an
Kuw
ait
Syr
ia
Tunisia
MENA
0
510
15
2025
30
35
4045
50
Average Years of Schooling Labor Force Participation Rate
Source: Omeira, 2007; based on data from Barro and Lee (2000) and ILO (2008b).
Trends in women’s average years of schooling and labour force
participation rates, selected countries (1980, 1990, 2000)
YET THEY REMAIN BEHIND WOMEN IN OTHER
REGIONSWomen's labour force participation
rate (%)Women's as a % of men's
rates1998 2008 1998 2008
World 51.4 51.6 65.4 67.3Developed Economies & European Union 49.2 49.8 71.1 75.1
Central & South-Eastern Europe (non-EU) & CIS 50.2 49.5 72.2 72.5
East Asia 70.7 68.2 85.8 87.5South-East Asia & the Pacific 57.3 56.8 70.2 69.1
South Asia 35.1 35.8 42.2 43.7
Latin America & the Caribbean 45.6 52.4 56.9 66.5Sub-Saharan Africa 59.6 61.5 73.0 76.6
Arab region 23.1 26.4 30.4 35.4
Source: ILO Global Employment Trends Model
Source: ILO GET Model for year 2008
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Alg
eri
a
Bah
rain
Co
mo
ros
Dji
bo
uti
Egyp
t
Iraq
Jord
an
Ku
wai
t
Leb
ano
n
Lib
ya
Mau
rita
nia
Mo
rocc
o
Om
an
WB
GS
Qat
ar
KSA
Som
alia
Sud
an
Syri
a
Tun
isia
UA
E
Yem
en
Men
Women
ONE REGION, MANY REALITIES
YOUNG WOMEN’S DOUBLE BIND
Women participate in the labour force less than men,
although their participation is on the rise
Lowest participation of women in the labour force and
highest rates of women’s unemployment in the world
Women have higher unemployment rates than men,
especially among youth
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
Women Men Women Men Women Men Women Men
15-24 15+ 15-24 15+
1997 2007
Labour force pariticipation
rate (%)
Employment-to-population
ratio (%)
Unemployment rate (%)
Source: ILO EAPEP, 2009
MORE EDUCATION DOES NOT GUARANTEE
FINDING A JOB
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%
Less than primary
Primary
Secondary
Tertiary
Less than primary
Primary
Secondary
Tertiary
Less than primary
Primary
Secondary
Tertiary
Less than primary
Primary
Secondary
Tertiary
Less than primary
Primary
Secondary
Tertiary
Less than primary
Primary
Secondary
Tertiary
Less than primary
Primary
Secondary
Tertiary
Alg
eria
(200
4)
Mor
occo
(200
5)
Om
an
(199
6)
Qat
ar
(199
7)
Tun
isia
(199
7)U
AE
(19
95)
WB
GS
(200
4) Women
Men
Source: ILO, 2008b.
BUT EDUCATION IS KEY TO SECURE A GOOD JOB
Women’s employment has a dual nature as they are
concentrated in sectors with:
Low education and low social protection-informal employment
(e.g. Agriculture, domestic work, etc.)
High education and high social protection-formal employment
(e.g. Public sector, education, health, etc.)
Illustration from Yemen (Census, 2004)
Main sectors of women's employment % Employed
population
% Women % Illiterate % Protected
Agriculture, hunting and forestry 28.5 11 61 1Not classifiable 4.0 35 38 9Manufacturing 5.7 11 29 26Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles,
motorcycles and personal and household goods18.4 2 29 5
Private households 0.5 31 45 5Transport, storage and communications 5.3 2 28 14
Other social and personal services 1.4 7 32 32
Public administration & defence; compulsory social security 12.7 5 15 98
Health and social work 1.3 31 7 76Education 7.6 22 2 96
Note: Red: low social protection; Green: high social protection
RISING INFORMAL EMPLOYMENT?
The concept of ‘informal employment’ is central to
understanding job quality
Four related aspects to informalization around the world
(Beneria and Floro, 2006):
Increasing labour market flexibilization
Growing inequality in income distribution and diminishing
bargaining power of workers
Institutional factors (e.g. forms of ownership, production, and
distribution)
Socially ascribed positions in society and within the
household
Studies of the region suggest that:
Different countries have different trends of informalization
There are fewer women in informal employment than men
WOMEN’S SHARE OF INFORMAL EMPLOYMENT IN
THE REGION IS LOWER THAN ELSEWHERE
Countries Industries Trade Services Total
Egypt (2006) 9.8 23.1 21.2 17.1
Lebanon (2004) 9.3 27.9 32.6 40.0
Tunisia (2004) 27.6 32.2 53.4 39.8
Yemen (2004) 8.5 2.2 5.9 4.2
Average 13.8 21.4 28.3 25.3
Sub-Saharan
Africa
35.2 56.7 35.9 51.0
Asia 28.7 47.3 40.2 38.8
Latin America 28.4 51.0 44.6 46.0
Source: Charmes J. (2002, updated 2004), Self-employment, informal employment, informal
sector employment: Trends and characteristics. A tentative assessment of their statistical
knowledge, 77p.
WOMEN AND MEN ARE EMPLOYED IN
DIFFERENT SECTORS
Countries with a large share of employment in agriculture (e.g.
Egypt, Iraq, WBGS, Yemen) have larger shares of women’s
employment than men’s in these sectors
Countries with a small share of employment in agriculture (e.g.
KSA, Qatar, Bahrain) have large shares of women in private
households with employed persons (mainly migrant domestic
workers from Asia and Africa) and/or in education
Across the region, women have a larger share of employment in
education and men a larger share in wholesale and retail trade
In countries with large export industries (e.g. Algeria,
Morocco), the share of women is larger in manufacturing
Country
% of Firms With
Participation of
Women in
Ownership
% of Women in
Senior Positions
Algeria (2007) 15.03 5.74
Egypt (2007) 20.89 1.28
Jordan (2006) 13.13 4.92
Lebanon (2006) 27.88 ..
Mauritania (2006) 17.26 14
Morocco (2007) 13.12 8.31
Oman (2003) .. 6.81
Syria (2003) .. 0.42
West Bank & Gaza
(2006) 18 ..
World 29.23 9.13
Arab States 17.90 5.93
Source: World Bank Enterprise surveys
Women participate in
the ownership of less
than 18 per cent of
enterprises --
significantly lower
than world average
On average, women
represent less than
6 per cent of workers
in senior positions in
the region
MEN ARE MORE LIKELY THAN WOMEN TO OWN THE
ENTERPRISE OR OCCUPY SENIOR POSITIONS IN IT
LABOUR LEGISLATION TYPICALLY EXCLUDES
THE LARGEST GROUPS OF WORKERS
Largest sector of employment
Country, year, % share of employment
Men and Women Women
Agriculture, hunting and forestry
Egypt 2006 (30.4%); Morocco 2006
(43.3%); Algeria 2004 (20.3%); Syria
2003 (26.9%); 1999 (53.2%)
Egypt 2006 (43.2%); Morocco 2006
(61.3%); 1999 (87.8%); Syria 2003
(49.1%); Iraq 2004 (32.6%); and Strip
2007 (36%)
Education
Jordan 2003 (40.6%); Oman 2000
(41.4%)
Manufacturing Algeria 2004 (26.4%)
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of
motor vehicles, motorcycles and
personal and household goods
Iraq 2004 (20.4%); and Strip 2007
(17.5%)
Public administration and defence;
compulsory social security
Saudi Arabia 2007 (18%); Bahrain
2001 (18%); Oman 2000 (48.6%);
Jordan 2003 (17.8%)
Construction
United Arab Emirates 2005 (29%);
Qatar 2006 (23.7%)
Private households with employed
persons Kuwait 2003 (25.4%)
Bahrain 2001 (36%); Qatar 2006
(42.7%); Saudi Arabia 2007 (46.4%);
UAE 2005 (41.7%)*
Source: ILO, 2009b. * Note: No sex-disaggregated data was available for Kuwait.
LABOUR LEGISLATION TYPICALLY FOCUSES ON
NATIONALS IN AN EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP
Self-employment as share of total employment Estimated
migrants’ share
(%) of
populationCountry Year Men Women
Algeria 2004 38.1 50.2 <1
Egypt 2006 36.3 46.3 <1
Morocco 2006 53.2 66.6 <1
Oman 2000 12.2 12.2 24
Qatar 2004 1.3 0.1 78
Syria 2001 50.2 53.4 5
UAE 2005 3.4 1.3 71
WBGS 2006 39.8 45 45 (refugees)
Yemen 1999 49.3 86.2 1
Source: KILM; UN Population Division
BEYOND LAWS… INSTITUTIONS AND SOCIAL
NORMS MATTER
The assumption of a national male head of household
who is working full-time in a for-profit enterprise with a
permanent employment relationship remains, although it
is not the case
Parents may still direct girls to non-labour market
relevant skills or ‘women appropriate skills’ that are
oversaturated
Women have a preference for public sector jobs on
account of better working hours, benefits and job security
Employers may opt for men as workers on account of
assumptions around women’s mobility constraints, care
responsibilities and maternity-related costs
UNEQUAL SHARING OF CARE RESPONSIBILITIES
Source: Shannak, 2008 based on Jordan DOS data.
Reasons for home-based work: evidence from Amman, Jordan
INADEQUACY OF MATERNITY PROTECTION
Strong enforcement in the public sector, less so in the
private sector
Protective legislation may increase incentives for
employers’ discrimination against employing women
in the private sector
Provision of maternity benefits by employer (Middle
East) rather than by social security (North Africa)
Childcare facilities linked to number of women
employees (childcare as women’s responsibility)
NORMATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR GENDER EQUALITY:
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR STANDARDS (1/2)
ILS are legal instruments drawn up by the ILO’s
constituents (governments, employers and workers)
setting out basic principles and rights at work
Conventions are legally binding international treaties
that may be ratified by member states
Ratifying countries commit themselves to
Applying the convention in national law and practice
Reporting on its application at regular intervals
Recommendations serve as non-binding guidelines
NORMATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR GENDER EQUALITY:
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR STANDARDS (2/2)
The gender implications of all ILO standards
should be considered in ensuring their effective
application
Four conventions have been acknowledged as
being key gender equality conventions
Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100)
Not ratified by Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation)
Convention, 1958 (No. 111)
Not ratified by Oman
Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention,
1981 (No. 156)
Ratified in the region only by Yemen
Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183)
No ratification in the Arab region
SUGGESTED PRIORITIES FOR
DISCUSSION
EXPAND SOCIAL CARE INFRASTRUCTURE
Bring into focus paid and unpaid contributions in care work and housework
Take into account family responsibilities of women and men workers
Provide social care services to relieve women of the supply side constraints to their labour force participation and to generate opportunities for them to work as paid caregivers
Recognize the provision of childcare as a basic element towards extending women’s employment opportunities
Encourage a more active role for men in assuming care responsibilities, particularly at home
EXTEND SOCIAL PROTECTION COVERAGE
Extend social protection coverage to informal
workers and their families
Gradually extend social insurance schemes
Provide non-contributory social pensions
Develop cash transfer programmes combining
benefit payments with incentives to further
education and health
Introduce employment guarantee schemes
Ensure that maternity benefits are funded by the
social security fund rather than employers only
INCLUDE WOMEN AND MEN WORKERS IN
POLICYMAKING
Involve employers and workers in the formulation
and implementation of relevant policies
Foster a democratic and participatory process of
social dialogue
Support the organization and representation of
workers generally, and informal workers
particularly
Promote the membership, participation, and
leadership of women in membership-based
organizations
Conduct gender audits of institutions as a starting
point
THANK YOU
esim@ilo.org