The ILO Asian Regional Consultation on the Beijing Platform for Action, Gender and Women’s Issues in the World of Work: Progress and Challenges for the Future, was held at the Philippine Plaza Hotel in Manila from 6 to 8 October 1999. The meeting was organized by the ILO in cooperation with the Department of Labor and Employment, of the Republic of the Philippines. This consultation sought to provide an opportunity to review and assess the progress made thus far towards goals articulated in the Beijing Platform for Action relevant to the ILO, to identify gaps and obstacles hindering achievement of these goals, and to determine the strategies and solutions best-suited to advancing towards these goals. Tripartite constituents and observers from the ILO member States of the Asian and Pacific region were invited to this consultation.

The meeting included three technical sessions covering the following themes: globalization, employment, women and the girl-child; women’s rights at work; and power-sharing and partnerships. Each of these themes was followed by discussions in separate working groups that subsequently presented their consolidated common understandings to the plenary.

Ms. Chita Cilindro, Director of the Bureau of Women and Young Workers, Department of Labor and Employment of the Philippines, opened the session.

1.1.1 Welcome remarks

The Honourable Bienvenido E. Laguesma, Secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment, offered a warm welcome, and extended his appreciation to the ILO for hosting the Asian Regional Consultation on Follow up to the Beijing Platform for Action in the Philippines. He particularly noted the Philippines’ effort even before the 1995 Beijing Conference to pass significant legislation supporting the promotion of women’s rights and gender equality at the workplace. In the wake of the Beijing Conference, the Philippines further provided the blueprint for a 30-year gender-mainstreaming plan – the Philippine plan for gender responsive development. Another gain provided for a five per cent gender budget allocation from government’s total appropriation, to be used to implement gender-responsive projects and programmes.

Partnerships with government and non-government organizations are based on the recognition of women as strong advocates and active agents for change in nation building. An indication of the improvement in the position of women is their increasing rate of labour force participation. However, there are still obstacles to women’s participation in the development process. Child labour and the girl-child are also serious concerns that need to be addressed. Finally, it is important to document the best practices or affirmative actions that advance the status of women.

A message from the ILO Director-General Mr. Juan Somavia was read by the ILO Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Ms. Mitsuko Horiuchi. Mr. Somavia said gender equality was at the heart of the ILO’s primary goal: to promote opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. The ILO had also committed itself to use its budgetary resources, knowledge and influence to achieve this goal. The Director-General pledged on International Women’s Day that gender equality would be a priority concern both within the organization and in its actions and advocacy, and followed this with significant increases in resources for work on gender issues in the next programme and budget. The Director-General’s message also cited the ILO’s technical report prepared for the meeting, which he said showed that over the past four years women had continued to suffer from discrimination in the labour market, particularly in South-East Asia. The Asian financial crisis inflicted and continued to inflict serious economic pain and suffering on women in terms of unemployment and loss of pay. Since the Beijing Conference there had been some progress at the regional level towards greater economic empowerment, but it was important that more jobs for women should not compromise on quality. The theme, better jobs, was the subject of the Director-General’s report to the 1999 ILO Conference, Decent Work, and gender equality was a central concern in this agenda. The concept of decent work is based on the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, which respects, promotes and realizes basic rights at work regardless of gender. Finally, addressing women’s rights cannot be disassociated from the issue of child labour. The Director-General appealed to participants to become actively involved in the ratification and implementation of the ILO Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, 1999 (No. 182).

Ms. Horiuchi delivered her personal message as the Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, International Labour Office, reinforcing the Director-General’s message on the ILO’s long-standing commitment to social and gender equality, dating back to its inception in 1919. Ms. Horiuchi also recognized positive developments for women’s empowerment in the Asian region since the Beijing Conference, focusing particularly on the policy and legal framework. However, existing social and cultural barriers call for continued efforts that require political will and public support. This requires an understanding of both the gains and existing constraints. In the past four years or so positive trends included increased awareness of sexual harassment as a violation of the human rights of women in the workplace and establishing or updating legal frameworks. Ms Horiuchi also noted long-term increases in women’s participation in politics, business and the labour movement. The Asian financial crisis showed the dark side of globalization, and confirmed that traditional concepts of gender roles are deeply rooted in Asia. The ILO’s work covers both normative activities, through the international labour Conventions and Recommendations, and the technical cooperation programmes. Most of the 12 areas of critical concern identified in the Beijing Platform for Action are relevant to the ILO’s work, such as, protecting and promoting human rights of women and girls, eradicating women’s poverty, eliminating all forms of violence against women, increasing access of women to decision-making, and promoting economic autonomy and equality of women. Gender equality was simply another way of saying "justice". Discrimination on the basis of sex was unfair, unjust and occurred "for no other reason than that we are born women". To face the challenges of today’s world, every society needed to ensure that all its members reached their full potential.

A welcome was extended on behalf of His Excellency, President Joseph Ejercito Estrada and the Philippines Government by Ms. Karina David, Secretary of Housing and Chair, Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), who delivered the keynote speech. Ms. David began by recognizing the ILO’s commitment to fighting gender inequality, and said the issue cut across all four of the ILO’s strategic objectives. The four-year period since the Beijing Conference was reviewed in terms of accomplishments, vis-a-vis its goals, taking note both of the international trends and the situation in the Philippines. The discussion on the condition and status of women was described in terms of the major aspirations articulated in the Beijing Platform: eradication of the persistent and increasing burden of poverty for women; full participation of women in public life and decision-making processes; and economic autonomy and equal access to resources and opportunities. In general, women are still confronted with considerable difficulties in achieving these aspirations in view of global and societal pressures. Structural adjustment and globalization, demonstrated by the Asian financial crisis, reinforce poverty among women. The general biases of society toward women still hinder advances in decision-making processes both in public and private life. The major advance achieved in Beijing is the open and formal recognition of gender inequalities that have existed for a long period of time. Although Ms David painted a grim picture of the situation of women, she also addressed positive developments, listing accomplishments after Beijing. She said a generation-to-generation comparison would show that women are in relatively in better positions and gains have been achieved. However, numerous constraints still exist, particularly when their status is compared with men’s. All the positive gains – such as increased participation of women in politics, creation of enabling laws and policies, and positive interventions to address women’s concerns in the development process – are the result of the efforts of women themselves. Still, much needs to be done, including formally recognizing various forms of unremunerated work performed by women beyond the confines of the traditional definition of employment. Addressing women’s issues is more than a "cognitive" exercise. It is a personal quest.

Updated by TN. Approved by BKL. Last update: 5 June 2000.

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