A report and conclusions of the Committee on Gender Equality were adopted on 17 June 2009 by representatives of the ILO's 182 member States present at the 98th session of the International Labour Conference.
The Committee on Gender Equality completed its work despite significantly reduced time due to exceptional modifications of the ILC agenda. These included establishment of a Committee of the Whole on Crisis Responses, and ILO Summit on the Global Jobs Crisis, held 15-17 June. The Committee of the Whole on Crisis Responses was briefed by Officers of the Committee on Gender Equality about gender dimensions of the current economic crisis; it used as a point of reference Discussion Point 2 of the background report (Report VI) which reads, "Immediate, medium and long-term measures for gender equality and to mitigate the impact of the economic crisis". The gender dimensions were taken into account and incorporated into "Recovering from the Crisis: A Global Jobs Pact", which was adopted by the ILC on 19 June.
The Committee on Gender Equality report and conclusions include a resolution concerning gender equality at the heart of decent work, which proposes that the Governing Body give due consideration to the conclusions when planning future action on gender equality. GENDER will present to the Governing Body at its November 2009 session a decision paper, which will outline the conclusions and identify priorities for Office action.