Fact Sheet
No. 6
Women
and the Economy
Despite the fact that women's
participation in the workforce has grown steadily worldwide, existing
gender inequalities have intensified with respect to pay and working conditions.
Women continue to face barriers
to economic empowerment and entrepreneurship. These obstacles include
discrimination in education, training, hiring, access to credit, the
right to own and inherit property, lower levels of pay, promotion for
equal work and greater domestic responsibilities for women. Rural women
and migrant workers are particularly hard hit during times of economic
downturn when they are much more vulnerable to unemployment and are
often forced to carry an even larger burden of unpaid work.
The Platform for Action,
adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995,
identified economic disparities between men and women as one of the
12 critical areas of concern requiring action by member states, the
international community and civil society.
During its forty-first session in 1997, the United Nations Commission
on the Status of Women proposed further action and initiatives to be
undertaken to promote women's economic empowerment, including the mainstreaming
of a gender perspective into all economic policies and programmes. Among
the agreed conclusions of the session were measures to enhance the capacity
of women to influence and make economic decisions as paid workers, managers,
employers, elected officials, members of non-governmental organizations
and unions, producers, household managers and consumers. Also included
were measures to eliminate biases in the educational system to counteract
the gender segregation of the labour market.
International Legal Standards
There are international
standards, including conventions of the International Labour Organization
(ILO) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women, that establish gender equality with regard to equal access
to employment, the right to equal pay and the prohibition of sexual
harassment, among others. However, the persistent lack of enforcement
and implementation of these standards has rendered them ineffective.
In response to this discrepancy,
UN member states have implemented measures since the Beijing Conference
to bring their laws and policies into compliance with international
conventions.
- In addition to ratifying
ILO conventions, Japan has amended its labour laws, which now prohibit
employers from discriminating against women in recruitment, hiring
and promotion, while abolishing restrictions on overtime, holiday
or night work by women aged 18 years and above.
- China has introduced legislation
and monitoring and enforcement mechanisms to provide labour protection
for women and guarantee their rights to employment.
- In 1998, Germany amended
its labour laws, redefining the liability of employers for gender-specific
discrimination. Herein, the employer must compensate the person discriminated
against, regardless of the degree of responsibility in the violation.
- In addition to ratifying
ILO conventions in 1995, Chile modified its Labour Code in 1998 to
prohibit employers from discriminating against women based on their
reproductive role.
The Right to Own and to Inherit
A few states, in efforts
to correct customary practices and traditions favouring men's ownership
of land, have passed legislation recognizing equal rights for women
to land ownership.
- Bolivia, the Dominican
Republic, Eritrea, Malaysia, Nepal, Uganda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe
are among the countries that have enacted laws recognizing women's
right to ownership of land.
- As of 1999, Mongolia's
Civil and Family Laws recognize women's equal rights to inheritance,
land use, ownership of livestock and other property.
- Armenia has established
equal ownership rights for women and men of real estate and other
property, while its Family and Marriage Code guarantees equal rights
for spouses to jointly owned property.
Equal Opportunities and
Protection from Harassment
Since the Beijing Conference,
several countries have adopted legislation to prevent abusive behaviour
against women and to secure equality between men and women in the workplace.
- Sweden amended its Equal
Opportunities Act in 1998 to increase employer obligation to prevent
sexual harassment in the workplace.
- Belize and India have
issued guidelines or adopted legislation to prevent sexual harassment
in the workplace.
- The Canadian Human Rights
Commission developed a model anti-sexual harassment policy in 1998
and made it available to employers.
- Argentina has adopted
a Plan of Equal Opportunities between Women and Men in Employment,
by which the Government, private sector and labour unions have committed
themselves to establishing mechanisms to promote equal opportunities.
- Albania's new Constitution,
adopted in 1998, enshrines the principle of equality between men and
women. As a result, all Albanian legislation, including the
Labour Code, now reflects this principle.
Supporting Women's
Economic Empowerment
The need to enact specific
legislation and develop policies to strengthen women's executive and
professional abilities, in particular to allow them to manage their
own businesses, has gained increasing recognition. To this end, governments
have developed policies and projects that use local, national and international
networks to facilitate information, technology, credit and training
for women entrepreneurs, as well as programmes that aim to enhance women's
education.
- In 1999, the Republic
of Korea enacted a law establishing a Korean Women Entrepreneurs'
Association. The law also encourages central and local government
bodies to provide support for women's businesses, both new and established.
- The United States has
taken steps to strengthen the financial capacity of women-owned small
businesses by granting micro-credits and loans via the small Business
Administration Programme and the Community Development Financial Institutions
Fund.
- Croatia is implementing
a programme that grants loans with favourable credit conditions to
small enterprises, in particular to women entrepreneurs.
- Benin has reported that,
as of May 1999, about 80 per cent of the government's credit programmes
for the development of micro-enterprises have benefited women.
- The Indian Government,
in support of women's entrepreneurial activities, ensures that no
less than 30 per cent of budgetary allocations for development sectors
reach women. In addition, 30-40 per cent of government employment
and asset-creation programmes are channelled to women.
- Iran has facilitated interest-free
credit for rural disadvantaged women and female-headed households
in order to support their productive activities.
- In South Africa, the Technology
for Women in Business programme, launched in 1998, facilitates access
to technology for women in small businesses.
- The Russian Federation
has embarked on a wide-reaching training and retraining programme
intended to improve women's employment prospects.
- In Australia, the Women
in Small Business Mentoring Project has developed a mentoring network
linking new starters with experienced business owners, enabling them
to share knowledge and experience.
- Algeria supports programmes
for the creation of micro-enterprises and for infrastructure and credit
to rural female cooperatives.
Work and Family Responsibilities
Women's reproductive role
has continued to be perceived as a stigma by the labour market. In an
effort to promote a change in attitude, some governments have adopted
policies to accommodate the conflicting responsibilities of work and
family life.
- Austria has increased
the flexibility of maternity leave and has enabled fathers to claim
paternity leave. In addition, more day-care centres have been established
and their operating hours have been extended.
- In 1997, Denmark amended
legislation securing equal access for men and women to employment
and maternity leave. Fathers are now entitled to claim two additional
weeks of paternity leave.
- In 1999, the Italian Parliament
approved a law by which female and male workers are not obliged to
accept night-time shifts if they have a child under the age of 3 years,
if they are single parents of a child under 12, and if they live with
a disabled person.
- Poland's labour code and
family welfare code guarantee equal rights for women and men to family
care leave, whereas the law entitles women to special protection on
the grounds of motherhood.
Developing Gender Analysis and Research
Studies to identify barriers
to women's economic empowerment have been conducted in a number of countries.
Governments have, among other things, funded research projects, compiled
sex-disaggregated data and published statistical reports on the economic
status of women.
- Australia has funded research
projects to identify barriers to education, training and employment
for girls and boys, as well as women's access to information technologies.
- Benin has published statistical
reports to raise awareness of the persistence of poverty among women.
- Egypt, Jordan and Oman
have developed database systems disaggregated by sex for use in the
planning of development projects.
This fact sheet
is based on "Review and Appraisal of the Implementation of the Beijing
Platform for Action: Report of the Secretary-General" (E/CN.6/2000/PC/2).
Published by the
United Nations Department of Public Information
DPI/2035/F—May 2000
