Gender equality is a fundamental human right and an essential condition for achieving effective democracy. The Constitution of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) affirms that "all human beings, irrespective of race, creed or sex, have the right to pursue both their material well-being and their spiritual development in conditions of freedom and dignity, of economic security and equal opportunity". Countries are increasingly committed to the promotion of equality of opportunity and treatment for women and men in the world of work. But governments and the social partners face difficulties in making the principles and provisions of international instruments effective in national law and practice. They often seek information and advice from the ILO on the different approaches taken in different parts of the world to give practical effect to gender equality principles.
To meet this demand, the Gender Promotion Programme (GENPROM) of the ILO has developed e.quality@work: An Information Base on Equal Employment Opportunities for Women and Men, which sets out international policy instruments including international labour standards as well as national legislation, policies, practices and institutional arrangements introduced by a range of governments, trade unions and public and private sector enterprises. e.quality@work is a ready resource that users can draw upon to facilitate the realization of policies and programmes to effectively eliminate discrimination and promote equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation.
Comprehensive, Easy to Access and Free
e.quality@work is designed to provide a comprehensive compilation of basic information on gender equality laws, policies and programmes. e.quality@work is easy-to-access and available without charge in a CD-ROM and on the Internet. Users are able to search and browse material on:
A practical tool for promoting equal employment opportunities for women and men
The Information Base is for anyone concerned with the promotion of gender equality and non- discrimination and looking for basic information on equal employment opportunities (EEO) for women and men. e.quality@work can be used by, for example, policy-makers, equal employment opportunity officers, human resource personnel, employers in both the public and private sectors, trade unionists, academia, staff of international organisations and civil society groups. Individual men and women workers can also learn about their rights. e.quality@work can serve as a practical tool for:
e.quality@work is a factual, not analytical, compilation of available information on EEO. The material presented in the Information Base has not been evaluated nor appraised and, thus, is not presented as "good practice" examples. Instead, the national legal frameworks, programmes and guidelines were chosen to achieve regional representation and reflect varied levels of progress on gender equality in different countries. Therefore, inclusion of a national legal framework, programme or guideline in the Information Base, should not be taken as an endorsement by the ILO of the particular law, policy or practice.
This section covers information on international
instruments, such as Conventions, Recommendations and Declarations, containing
provisions on equal employment opportunities for women and men. This includes ILO Conventions
and Recommendations that make up what is known as International Labour Standards.
International Labour Organisation
Instruments
ILO Conventions and Recommendations
Each ILO Convention is a legal instrument.
Once a country has ratified a Convention and it has come into force, the State
is obliged to bring its national law and practice into conformity with the
provisions of the Convention, and to report periodically to the ILO on its
application in both law and practice.
The three main ILO Conventions that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex and promote equality are: the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100), the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) and the Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156).
A number of the ILO Conventions provide for special conditions of work and protection when the reproductive capacity of workers would be endangered by exposure to particular substances or situations in the workplace. Others provide for social security protection for women in pregnancy and child-bearing. There should be no debate that measures based on the sex or biological characteristics of women, such as the ILO Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No.183), are necessary for the achievement of true equality. But other protective measures based on gender in terms of perceptions about the capabilities or the appropriate role of women in society have come under increasing scrutiny, as they can actually be disadvantageous to women’s employment and promotion prospects or deny them entry into certain jobs.
The Part Time Work Convention, 1994 (No. 175)
and the Home Work Convention, 1996 (No. 177) are also dealt with in the EEO
Information Base because they aim to ensure proper terms and conditions of
work in atypical forms of employment where women tend to be concentrated.
ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles
and Rights at Work and its Follow-up, 1998
This Declaration reaffirms the commitment of all member States of the ILO to the fundamental principles and rights, which are incumbent on all countries by the very fact of their membership in the Organization, even if they have not ratified the corresponding Conventions. The elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation is among the principles concerning the fundamental rights, which are subject of those Conventions.
ILO Policy Statements Concerning Women Workers
e.quality@work refers to a number of ILO Declarations and Resolutions that define the key areas to combat discrimination and the priority issues to be addressed by the ILO to assist its member States in progressing towards equality between women and men in the EEO Information Base. An example is the Resolution on Equal Opportunities and Equal Treatment for Men and Women in Employment (1985). These documents are often intended to have a normative effect but are not referred to as part of the ILO's system of international labour standards.
United Nations Instruments
Among the most significant instruments is
the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW). Relevant United Nations resolutions or declarations
relating to equality between women and men have also been included in the
EEO Information Base. The most encompassing in this respect is the Platform
for Action and the Beijing Declaration of the Fourth World Conference on Women,
1995. The Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action of the World Summit
for Social Development, 1995 also emphasizes gender equality.
Other international organisations, such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), are also covered and more such organisations are being added on an ongoing basis.
This section includes information on institutions, legal instruments, programmes, projects and guidelines adopted by regional intergovernmental organizations on gender equality in the world of work. This includes information on European Union (EU) instruments, institutions and other measures relevant to equal employment opportunities for women and men, as well as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
A number of different indicators, represented for each country in the list to the left, are taken from the International Labour Office's, Key Indicators of the Labour Market (KILM) 2001-2002 depending on the available statistics.
For more background on KILM and the indicators used see the KILM 2001 - 2002 overview.
See also Chapter 9 of KILM 2001 - 2002 "Sex-specific labour market indicators". Where multi-year statistics were available for each country, the following KILM indicators were used due to their relevance as gender indicators:
The available indicators and country list will continue to be expanded. .
This section is a resource of national legal frameworks and institutional mechanisms to promote gender equality. Information is available from some forty countries around the world (in updates of e.quality@work, information from more countries will be added)
Sources of Law
Sources of law on equal employment opportunities
include the relevant international treaties ratified by each country (the
full text of each of these treaties or Conventions is found in the section
“ILO and UN Instruments”).
e.quality@work includes many different types of national legislation.
There is specific legislation banning discrimination in access to goods and
services and participation in different activities, including holding public
office. There are also anti-discrimination provisions in labour legislation
that apply to recruitment, promotion and dismissal, training and vocational
opportunities and the terms and conditions of employment. Sexual harassment
in the workplace is usually treated as a form of sex discrimination. The provisions
may also apply to more indirect forms of discrimination, such as discrimination
on the basis of marital status, pregnancy and family responsibilities. Labour
legislation can cover health and safety regulations to protect women’s reproductive
and maternal capacities, such as maternity protection and benefits and the
provision of special conditions of work for pregnant women or nursing mothers.
There is also “supportive” legislation - because non-discrimination legislation alone is normally not adequate for “leveling the playing field” for women and men or for achieving de facto equality. For example, provisions for dependent care (young children, aged parents or family members with disabilities) and parental leave are often crucial for removing the barriers which, in practice, hinder women’s equal participation with men in the labour force. Laws affecting women’s right to inherit and own land, to enter into a contract in her own name and to be treated as an individual worker rather than a family dependent for taxation and social security purposes are all important. Many countries also have positive or affirmative action legislation to eliminate the current direct and indirect consequences of past discrimination and disadvantage that women suffered.
Collective Agreements
In many countries, the key means of action promoting gender equality in the workplace is through collective bargaining, which is a process of negotiation leading to a legal written agreement between workers and employers. Since statute law often only provides for a minimum level of protection, collective (and other workplace) agreements can expand upon legislative protections and norms of equality.
The equality clauses in collective agreements can be well developed, and the examples set out in e.quality@work include provisions dealing with positive or affirmative action, training and promotion, part‑time work, pregnancy, childbirth and parental leave, childcare facilities, breastfeeding breaks and the principle of equal pay for work of equal value.
Case Law
The decisions of courts
and tribunals are, to varying degrees, an important source of law in all countries.
In some countries, they have helped to overcome inadequacies in gender
equality laws. Significant judicial decisions are included
in e.quality@work, in order to provide a complete legal picture for a given country
and to illustrate how written laws are interpreted and, importantly, applied
in practice to actual factual situations.
The creation of a legal framework alone is not enough. Institutional mechanisms and administrative processes are crucial for the effective implementation, enforcement and monitoring of legal rights. These institutions fall within the following general categories:
Legislative and Administrative Institutions
Law enforcement institutions such as the labour inspectorates and public prosecution services are included in the Information Base. Bodies such as equal opportunity commissions, human rights commissions or ombudspersons deal with all forms of discrimination or with the promotion of equal opportunities for disadvantaged groups. There can also be special commissions for women, departmental "focal points" for women's affairs or coordinating bodies of the national machinery for the promotion of equality. Important government departments and agencies are also referred to, as in many countries they have a role due to government efforts to mainstream gender concerns.
Courts and Tribunals
Equally important to the enforcement of laws are the mechanisms for dispute and complaint resolution and adjudication and the possibility of filing legal action in cases of discrimination. e.quality@work sets out the frameworks for the settlement of disputes and the mechanisms and processes that can be used to deal with individual and collective labour disputes, discrimination complaints as well as complaints of mal-administration by government officials – they include courts, both civil and criminal, and other dispute resolution tribunals. Some of the general bodies for the promotion of equality, human rights commissions and ombudspersons also perform these roles.
Workers’ and Employers’ Organisations
Unions that have adopted special structures
for women members or for the promotion of gender equality are provided as
examples (more information on their activities can be found in the Trade
Union Policies section of e.quality@work). Also included are relevant employer groups,
such as business support networks for women entrepreneurs, employer organisations
with a special chamber/division for women or associations of business women.
Information is also available on relevant tripartite structures.
Information
and Research Institutions
Government laws, policies and programmes should
be based on reliable and up-to-date sex disaggregated data. Research evaluating
the impact of policies and programmes on the relative situation of women and
men is also needed. For these reasons, national statistics bodies and research
institutions, as well as universities offering specialised gender studies,
are included in this section.
This section gives examples of national policy guidelines for promoting equal employment opportunities and treatment for women and men.
Achievement of gender equality in employment is not always easy. For example, practical guidelines on job evaluation would help to implement the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. Such guidelines and policies are included in e.quality@work, so that countries seeking to implement their own measures can benefit from the approaches and experiences in other countries. National guidelines provide detailed suggestions for the implementation of equality laws, but also may suggest voluntary initiatives and strategies, which can be directed towards government agencies, employers, unions, as well as society at large. The important issue of monitoring and follow-up to ensure the continued effectiveness of measures in practice is also covered.
There are also extensive statements that set out the broad policy approach and general strategies in a country. Countries usually have a national policy specifically targeting women, including, but seldom limited to, National Action Plans for the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. Educational, employment, economic development and other social policies have also been selected for inclusion in e.quality@work where they integrate gender and employment concerns.
“Promotional” policies: Such policies aim to promote conducive conditions for the participation of women in the labour force, and include information campaigns to raise awareness of gender issues and encourage more positive attitudes toward the economic role of women. They also cover education and training policies and the provision of gender-sensitive occupational guidance to help increase the participation of women in previously male-dominated occupations. Many examples are of policies to promote women entrepreneurs. Other promotional policies seek to improve the representation of women in power and decision-making in both the public and private sectors. The guidelines also cover those in atypical employment (to improve their conditions of work) and especially vulnerable groups (such as the long-term unemployed, single mothers, persons with disabilities, or older women workers).Anti-discrimination policies: Many countries now have detailed guidelines that cover practical issues relating to, for example, job evaluations to determine equal pay, sexual harassment in the workplace, drafting of non-discriminatory job advertisements, and the adoption of recruitment, promotion and termination procedures to avoid discrimination in practice.
This section provides examples of government initiatives, strategies, projects and programmes to give practical effect to its policies and guidelines on equal employment opportunities for women and men.
Examples of strategies and practices for implementation include gender-sensitive programmes and projects that aim to promote basic labour rights, create more and better jobs for women, or give special support to disadvantaged or marginalised groups of workers. As a general rule, only specifically targeted, designed or reserved programmes are included; they are of three types:This section provides summaries and full texts
of company human resource policies that cover work-based discrimination or
harassment, seek to promote a work environment conducive to equal employment
opportunities and treatment for women and men and/or set out specifically
targeted positive measures. Information in this section is drawn mainly from
the responses of companies to two surveys conducted by the ILO in 1998 and
2000.
National legislation and other instruments having legal effect, such as collective agreements and contracts of employment, do not cover the complete domain of the employment relationship. A company will normally have its own EEO policy, which is typically in the form of detailed staff rules and human resource management guidelines. Some policies may be to meet national legal requirements, while some may be voluntary initiatives that complement government regulation.
Company EEO policies can create workplaces
that are conducive to women workers by targeting discrimination and harassment.
In addition to bans on discriminatory practices in recruitment, promotion,
transfers and access to training and education, pay or fringe benefits and
other conditions of service, the policies may address indirect discrimination
such as sex-based occupational qualifications, separate lines of progression
and seniority systems for men and women and discriminatory treatment relating
to pregnancy and childbirth.
Other company policies involve human resource development (HRD) strategies to change corporate culture, so as to remove the barriers that impede the progress of women to management positions (the so called “glass ceiling”) or to eliminate wage discrimination due to the stereotyping of gender roles and occupations. Other HRD policies cover “work and family” issues, such as parental leave, childcare, breastfeeding and limitations on shift work or overtime. Some measures that do not specifically target women - such as career breaks, home-based work (teleworking), part-time work, job-sharing and merit-based recruitment processes – can be especially beneficial to women. Companies may also have positive action measures to improve employment outcomes for women or to retain women employees by levelling the playing field for them vis-à-vis men. Management and supervisory staff may be required to participate in training in EEO related issues, and how they perform in this regard may be part of their performance appraisals.
Policies to promote gender equality can also
be in the nature of “codes of conduct” or “private voluntary initiatives”
that govern companies as corporate citizens.
These are broad policy statements of values or principle that seek
to support and enhance shared universal values and ethical practices in areas
such as human rights, labour standards, the environment and companies’ interactions
with customers, suppliers, governments and the communities in which they operate.
They often include a reference to non-discrimination by sex but seldom take
up other issues of concern to women workers. Because many of these codes are very similar, and are already widely
reported on the Internet and by the ILO itself (in the Business and Social
Initiatives - BASI - Database), e.quality@work does not deal
with these codes.
This section presents efforts made by trade unions to promote gender equality within unions, at the workplace and in the broader society. The information comes from a resource kit prepared by GENPROM in collaboration with the Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV) of the ILO, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the International Trade Secretariats (ITSs). It is also based on a survey conducted in 1999/2000 of some 320 unions around the world.
Trade unions obviously play a crucial role in the promotion of gender equality and the protection of vulnerable women workers. In the context of the increasing participation of women in the labour force, unions have been giving priority to women as a target group for recruitment and have introduced a number of policy measures to achieve equality between women and men in their ranks, including equal participation in their decision-making and negotiation bodies. Unions are increasingly promoting gender equality through the collective bargaining process and are treating concerns such as equal pay, sexual harassment and family-friendly policies as mainstream union issues. They are also using innovative ways to reach, organize and protect workers in the services sector, outside the formal workplace, and in various types of atypical or precarious forms of work, including in the informal sector.
The resource kit, on which
this section of e.quality@work is based, provides information organized as follows: