10 September 2008
Since 1919, the ILO has sought to guarantee labour rights and improve working conditions for women and men. 50 years ago, in 1958, the International Labour Organization adopted the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention (C.111), still the most comprehensive and dedicated international instrument on non-discrimination and gender equality in the world of work.
11 August 2008
One billion young people will reach working age within the next decade. Providing them with the opportunity to secure productive employment and decent work is a societal, national and global challenge. It is no wonder that youth employment is listed high on the international community's agenda. This is the best educated and best trained generation of young men and especially young women ever. Youth employment: Breaking gender barriers for young women and men is the third theme of the gender equality at the heart of decent work campaign.
21 July 2008
The ILO, in partnership with Irish Aid, promotes women's entrepreneurship development and enhances employment opportunities for women, including women with disabilities or living with HIV/AIDS, through business knowledge and training; promoting and facilitating access to micro-finance institutions; facilitating access to markets through trade fairs and exhibitions; and, voice and representation through the strengthening of women entrepreneurs' networks and groups. In 2007 alone, over 3,000 women in Eastern Africa benefited from the ILO-Irish Aid Partnership Programme. Their personal stories are highlighted in the narratives accompanying the following photographs.
11 July 2008
Safe maternity is at the core of life itself, for mothers, infants and communities. For working women - whether it is their active participation in labour markets, the vital unpaid work they conduct at home or various forms of atypical or self-employed work - balancing maternity and family responsibilities with work imperatives is at the root of their crucial roles.
04 July 2008
Ranging from small-scale to multi-million dollar businesses, cooperatives employ today some 100 million women and men in both industrialized and developing countries, and have more than 800 million individual members across the globe. 'Concern for community' is one of the Cooperative Principles which guides the work of cooperatives around the world. Celebrated annually on the first Saturday of July, the 14th UN International Day of Cooperatives focuses this year on the significant contribution that cooperatives can make to mitigating climate change. In the context of climate change and food price rises, cooperatives do play a role in rural areas around the world. The following pictures highlight not only how cooperatives reduce carbon emissions, but also promote sustainable development in general.
13 June 2008
The first theme of the Gender Equality at the Heart of Decent Work Campaign focuses on providing decent childhoods for girls and boys. Education for all is the key to development, but there are many barriers, including poverty, children having to work, limited access to education, gender preference to give an education to a son instead of a daughter when having to make a choice, and girls having to take on many household chores with little time left to study. But empirical evidence has shown that educating girls is one of the most effective ways to fight poverty and to break through the vicious circle of women's poverty, illiteracy and poor working conditions.
28 April 2008
Every year more than 2 million people die from occupational accidents or work-related diseases. "Injury and disease are not 'all in a day's work'", says ILO Director-General Juan Somavia. "Fatalities, accidents and illness at work can be prevented. We must promote a new 'safety culture' in the workplace - wherever work is done - backed by appropriate national policies and programmes to make workplaces safer and healthier for us all." The promotion of occupational safety and health is one of the means to make Decent Work a global reality.
10 March 2008
The Global Employment Trends for Women 2008 report of the ILO shows that in 2007, 1.2 billion women around the world worked, almost 200 million or 18.4 per cent more than ten years ago. But the report also highlights that the share of vulnerable employment, although decreasing from 56.1 to 51.7 between 1997 and 2007, continues to be higher for women than for men, especially in the world's poorest regions. The ILO celebrated International Women's Day to highlight the theme that Investing in Decent Work for women is not just right, but smart!
05 March 2008
Promoting equality is not only a matter of human rights, but it also makes good economic sense. Empowering women goes beyond the intrinsic value for women themselves, and has profound impacts on families,communities,national economies.The ILO supports several micro-finance programmes for gender equality and the empowerment of women.