ILO Operational Objective:
"Progress has been made on gender equality since the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995); the human rights of women have gained recognition; violence against women is now an illegal act in almost every country. Progress, however, is uneven and far from sustained. Women continue to represent the majority of the world's poor. Much of their work is unpaid and often remains invisible in official statistics. Women are over-represented in the more precarious categories of employment, in the informal economy as well as among the unemployed and underunemployed. Women are therefore in many cases covered neither by legislation nor by social security, and they have no voice to improve their situation. They bear the brunt of the social costs and human suffering during periods of economic crisis and armed conflict and as a result of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.There has been no breakthrough in women's participation in decision-making processes and little progress in legislation in favour of women's right to own land and other property.

To address these multi-faceted gender issues, it is essential to take an integrated approach, based on equal rights and partnerships between men and women. Gender is an issue that cuts across all of the ILO's four strategic objectives and is fundamental to achieving decent work for all. For the ILO and its constituents, the future challenge therefore consists in effectively incorporating gender equality concerns throughout the process of putting decent work into practice at the national and international levels."

ILO, Strategic policy framework, 2002-05