Professor Mari Osawa of Tokyo University addressed this session, describing the historical background and the set of key events that led up to the Asian financial crisis; Dr. Osawa also briefly summarized the emergence of the crisis, the way in which it had unfolded and its dynamics; this was followed by a presentation of significant research findings regarding the impact of the crisis on women in five countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea and Thailand. Dr. Osawa ended her presentation with a number of conclusions and recommendations. Her comments and analysis with respect to the antecedents and the development of the crisis and its impact on women as disclosed by the research, and conclusions, are summarized below.

Dr. Osawa opened her presentation by indicating that we have witnessed a general failure on the part of governments, international organizations and markets themselves to prevent or even predict crises. The current crisis has demonstrated the volatility and instability of the contemporary global economy. Dr. Osawa summarized the history of globalization and a number of important milestones that have created the context and conditions that prompted the current crisis. What happened within the Asian crisis was the subject of a major fact-finding effort by the AIT-ILO joint study on the impact of the Asian economic crisis on women, 1998, coordinated by G. Kelkar and M. Osawa.

Overall, this study found that more women than men were hit by the crisis. The unemployment rate in the Philippines had risen to 13.3 per cent and the unemployed population had reached 4.3 million by April 1998. Though more men were laid off than women, and more women than men have found employment in 1998 compared to 1997, the female unemployment rate (15.2 per cent) continues to exceed the male rate (12.2 per cent). Some firms are replacing male workers with women, since they are more likely to accept lower wages and employment under tenuous contracts. Most of the new jobs found by women are in the service industries, and mainly in the informal sector.

In the Republic of Korea, while the unemployment rate continues to be relatively lower for women (5.8 per cent in August 1998) than that for men (8.5 per cent), the economically active population has decreased sharply among women, while it has increased slightly among men during the crisis period (August 1997 – August 1998). Apart from agricultural and fishery sector and professional and administrative jobs, in all occupational categories, the number of women workers has decreased. The largest decrease is found among the clerical workers. The previous occupations of unemployed women reveal that those most affected were service workers, tellers, quasi-professionals, models and sales workers. In industry the hardest-hit areas were manufacturing, retail businesses, and personal and social services. Compared to the previous year, the highest rate of decrease for women is found in regular workers (-19.7 percent) while for men it is –6.4 percent. This fall in numbers of women regular workers suggests that the structural adjustment has hit women harder and that they have been transformed into irregular casual workers (July 1998 compared to July 1997).

According to a study carried out by the Labour Resource Center of Thailand, 60 per cent of the unemployed are women, of whom 23 per cent had been working in the textile and garment industry. Turning to the impact on Thailand’s labour markets, a recent nationwide quantitative analysis covering the period to the first quarter of 1998 by N. Kakwani has taken note of gender-based differentials. The study points out that while the crisis’ impact on men has been more severe in terms of employment, unemployment, the unemployment rate, and underemployment, a decline in total employment spurred by the crisis is not statistically significant. The crisis has contributed to a shift of employment away from wage and salary to farm work – which is actually a kind of disguised unemployment or underemployment. Due to the crisis and the lack of employment opportunities, people are willing to work for low wages. The levels of real earnings rather than the number of unemployed tell the true story about the impact of the crisis.

Despite the problems obtaining data on the informal sector, research from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand clearly show that homeworkers, traditional artisans, weavers and craft workers were the biggest losers in the crisis.

Dr. Osawa’s paper identifies a number of strategies for protecting livelihood and promoting recovery in the wake of the crisis. Those relating specifically to women identify the need to provide support to women in home production, through marketing and management programs. They also recommend that more attention should be paid to policies for gender parity. This could be brought about by an effective legal apparatus for equal employment, and by enhancing women’s adequate participation in management and decision-making, in trade unions and within policy implementation bodies. There is a great need for better monitoring of government programmes to ensure that women are given a fair share of public support, be that in the form of employment opportunities through labour-intensive schemes or in agriculture or other activities.

Comments by Employers’ spokesperson - Ms. Barbara Burton, Legal Advisor, New Zealand Employers’ Federation

Ms. Burton indicated that globalization cannot be halted. It needs to be dealt with constructively and to do so, more entrepreneurial societies can be envisaged as one possible response. With respect to the protection of women, many countries already have such legislation. For instance, laws that can provide for the education of the girl-child are commonly in place. However such legislation is often not enforced and its implementation is generally quite weak. Employers’ organizations can play a useful role in ensuring that such laws are better applied. Important principles also can be developed by the ILO at conferences such as this and in other fora. However such principles should not be imposed on individual countries. Each country must evolve its own endogenous standards and practice. Employers’ organizations and governments can play a useful and constructive role by raising awareness.

Comments by Workers’ spokesperson – Ms. Hinako Watanabe, Assistant Director, Japanese Trade Union Confederation, RENGO

Ms. Watanabe indicated that trade unions, generally speaking, are not against globalization. Globalization has brought progress in quite a number of countries. Globalization, to an extent, has resulted in the improvement of the working and living conditions of workers and of their families. However, globalization of the economy has also resulted in the exploitation of workers. It has brought about limitations on freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively. This has been the case particularly in countries where the authorities have tried to attract foreign investment by creating free economic processing zones. Specifically, women have suffered disproportionately from these negative effects of globalization. This negative impact can be tackled only on a global level, and by establishing international labour standards that should be properly applied at the national level. The workers’ group wanted to strongly emphasize the implementation of the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. This Declaration, which was adopted at the International Labour Conference in 1998, covers the core labour standards of the ILO: the right to organize and bargain collectively, the elimination of forced labour, equal opportunities for women and equal remuneration for work of equal value and the elimination of child labour. Workers called on governments and employers to enforce these standards because they also provide a good basis for improving the position of women workers.

A number of other important comments were made with respect to a range of issues related to gender and gender equality:

Ms. Lorraine Corner of UNIFEM, East and South East Asia Regional Office, pointed out that when considering women’s issues in the labour market, a social perspective often tends to be adopted, while failing to analyze economic issues. As a result we fail to appreciate some significant effects on women of certain special protective measures such as maternity leave or special working conditions. In themselves these differentiate women workers from men and may provide the basis for discrimination. For example, many employers routinely hire women as casual or temporary workers in order to avoid the potential costs of maternity leave. This has the side effect of also depriving the women of access to training and promotion because firms are unlikely to invest in casual workers. More attention needs to be paid to the way in which special measures for women are implemented, and to potential unwanted side effects. If the costs of maternity benefits are socialized through social insurance funds, particularly where all workers contribute (men as well as women) such side effects can be minimized.

A second important issue that also is related to economics is that of access to credit. Mr. Nemani V. Buresova, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women, Culture & Social Welfare of Fiji, pointed out that rural women may have particular difficulty in gaining access to credit. Micro-finance is not readily available for them and establishing government bureaucracies for this may not solve the problem. Creative measures and appropriate delivery institutions need to be identified. Access to training and employment opportunities were similarly identified as important issues by Ms. Connie M. Angco of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines. She indicated that it is important to establish appropriate networks with concerned agencies and to build their capacity to provide training in non-traditional trades, newly emerging trades, and entrepreneurship. Such efforts should also cover the needs of rural women and women in the informal sector. The importance of providing coverage to women workers in the informal sector was also confirmed by Ms. Mercy Ravi, General Secretary, Women Committee of the Indian National Trade Union Congress. She pointed to the need to provide protective social security in the unorganized sector, micro-credit systems for women entrepreneurs, better marketing support for women and the restructuring of rural credit systems so that marginal farmers can avoid money lenders. She also suggested that imports should be phased in gradually so that domestic craft-based industries in which women are active will not be precipitously eliminated. In general, more gender awareness should be promoted at policy-making levels. Ms. Zulekha Zar, Vice President, Pakistan National Federation of Trade Unions, similarly identified the importance of providing coverage to women in the informal sector. Ms Zar indicated that appropriate labour legislation ought to be formulated to meet their needs, and also pointed out the often ineffective implementation of labour legislation or the circumvention of labour laws that results in women being denied social protection. For example, employers, in order to avoid paying maternity leave benefits, may declare their pregnant workers casual or temporary. It was suggested that women members be included on labour inspection teams in order to better monitor and assist affected women and make labour inspection more effective.

More broadly it was suggested by Mr. Ubaidur Rehman Usmani from the Employers’ Federation of Pakistan that women’s issues should be tackled in innovative and creative ways and that we should not limit our perspectives, approaches or solutions to orthodox and conventional thinking. A useful point on which to conclude this summary of participant comments was raised by Ms. Lynn Middleton of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions. She indicated that although positive change can potentially result from the experiences of a crisis, within the context of this particular recent crisis and the resulting economic situation in Asia and the Pacific, positive change had not occurred for women and child workers. Rather, the reverse had happened. Ms Middleton suggested that the aims of the Beijing Platform for Action were not advanced by country responses to the crisis. It was suggested that all speakers including the ILO, governments, employers and workers attending this consultation reach fundamental agreement on the main issues and problems facing women, and that concrete change and improvements have been slow to occur. In order to ensure a better response, each tripartite partner has a constructive and useful role to play with respect to the relevant issues and problems. For example with respect to the elimination of child labour, a goal upon which there is unanimous agreement, governments should provide an economic environment and a social safety net that can promote the elimination of child labour. For their part, employers must stop employing children and instead employ adults. Trade unions must work collectively to advance workers’ rights and to claim fair pay and conditions. Each social partner has a role to play and must take genuine and decisive action to achieve an end to child labour and to secure practical improvements for women workers.

1.4. Session II: Women’s rights in the world of work

This second Technical Session was chaired by Ms. Chen Ying, Deputy Director General of the Chinese Enterprise Directors’ Association, who subsequently introduced the Resource Person, Ms. Usha Ramanathan from the Delhi University, India.

According to Ms. Ramanathan, women workers’ rights are viewed in the legal context of protection and equal opportunity issues. Protection for women workers is now translated to labour standards and movement towards increasing humane standards. Equal opportunity on the other hand is provided by ensuring that women have equal access at recruitment stage and at the workplace. The issue of protection covers security and conditions of work. The prevalence of stereotyping of women is still reflected in existing laws and government policies. Certain policy gaps can be observed on the issue of maternity benefits, special protection for night work, sexual harassment and other benefits. There is also an increasing tendency to link maternity benefits with population policies, especially if maternity leave under the law excludes the third or fourth childbirth. In this way, women are unduly asked to bear the brunt of population control policies. Sexual harassment is another issue in the workplace which still needs to be further defined if it is envisioned that an institutional system for grievances and /or complaints will be functional. This is in the light of the cumbersome process by which sexual harassment victims must present their cases, sometimes to the point of loss of credibility. Ms. Ramanathan also expressed anxiety over the ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182). Ms Ramanathan put forward her opinion that, by adopting the standards provided in the Convention, the ILO had pulled essential criminal offences such as child prostitution and the use of children in pornography into the field of work. This, she said, had the potential to give the two offences the status of work-related issues, and that could cause "dilution" of the criminal character of the offences because of the shift from criminal law coverage to that of labour law.

Ms. Barbara Burton from New Zealand, Employers’ spokesperson offered the first statement after Ms. Ramanathan’s presentation. The employers’ group is concerned that in gender-related legislation, a balance be struck between minimum requirements and what should be most effective. This is the point at which involvement of the social partners is of particular importance. The ILO can likewise provide technical assistance through the conduct of comparative analysis of legislation, best practice initiatives and providing appropriate training to government institutions. From the employers’ point of view, it is through best practice policies that employment choices are made on a "best person for the job basis." Employers are also encouraged to consider ways in which they can help women accommodate their work and family responsibilities. Moreover, a country’s level of economic development is an important factor in gender-related legislation. However, education and training are keys to a country’s standard of development, no matter at which level of employment women workers are found.

Ms. Hinako Watanabe from Japan, Workers’ spokesperson, provided a picture of realities for working women trapped in sub-human working environments worsened by their subjugation to their husbands. It is true that women workers have all the rights provided by ILO core labour standards and other UN Conventions on women. However women workers have to contend with grim realities both at the workplace and at home. Affirmative action for women is an essential instrument to enhance equality and ensure that rights are not only provided at the workplace but also at home. The ILO is called upon to design and implement education programs to assist women trade unionists to improve their status in society.

Ms. Maria Lovaga from the Department of Labour and Employment of Papua New Guinea raised the possibility of the ILO providing an improved international standard on maternity benefits for working women. She encouraged employers to utilize a labour cost variable in deciding the merits of employing women. Another point on maternity protection was raised by Ms. Annie Coeroli, an observer from ICFTU-APRO, Tahiti, when she pointed that a significant downgrading of the current maternity protection could occur during the current review undertaken by ILO of its long-standing maternity protection Convention. Since 1919, the ILO Maternity Protection Convention, 1919 (No. 3), on maternity leave has protected pregnant women at work by providing rights, such as paid leave and protection against dismissal while on maternity leave. She further appealed that the proposed Convention expected to be considered in the year 2000 should not in any way reduce the current protections accorded to working women. Ms. Barbara Burton, Employers’ spokesperson, replied to Ms. Coeroli’s statements by noting that the current maternity Convention has not been widely ratified. Although employers are generally supportive of maternity protection, it is important that the proposed maternity Convention should deal with principles involved. Prescriptive detail, such as that found in the current Convention and largely repeated in the proposed revised Convention, is best contained in a Recommendation. The implementation of maternity protection principles should be a matter for national legislation and practice. Otherwise, the proposed Convention would again encounter difficulty in ratification.

Undersecretary Rosalinda Baldoz of the Department of Labor and Employment, the Philippines, stated that the world of work has always been identified more closely with the formal sector and to a lesser degree with the informal sector. But as women continue to perform multi-faceted roles as homemakers, household work remains unremunerated and excluded from the system of National Accounts. She urged that appropriate actions be taken by governments with the assistance of the International Labour Organization to recognize family and other home-based work as economic activities which should be properly valued and remunerated. This system of homework valuation would help address the problem of stereotyping women who are housewives, but able to contribute to the income of the family to fully develop their potentials and participate in the development process. It would also enable governments to provide appropriate protection for them and equal access to all the opportunities available to working women in the formal sector such as training, education, credit, information, technology, etc.

Ms. Jovita J. Vence, an observer from the Brotherhood of Asian Trade Unionists (BATU) from the Philippines, pointed out that all available legal instruments are only applicable to the formal working sector. Since more and more women are moving towards non-traditional forms of employment and working arrangements, women workers’ rights in the informal sector need to be identified and spelled out. She encouraged multi-sectoral social negotiations as a mechanism to push for informal sector rights.

Assistant Secretary Rey Conferido of the Department of Labor and Employment, the Philippines, raised a few questions which he addressed to the Ms. Ramanathan, the session resource person. First, he wanted clarification on the meaning of women’s rights in the world of work. He asked whether this meant that women’s rights in the world of work should be understood only in the context of an enterprise and economy or if it should include concepts of voluntary or non-remunerated activities, such as those performed at home, which could contribute positively to society. He further expressed concern over Ms. Ramanathan’s anxiety regarding the potential she had pointed to for declassification of child prostitution and use of children in pornography from criminal to labour policy, observing that this appeared to lean towards the purity and neatness of legal concepts rather than more practical measures of penalty. On the other hand, he agreed with the resource person’s observation that the issue of women’s rights in the world of work should be approached from a balanced perspective, considering both protection and equality. This approach should be constantly revisited in light of new developments. For example, according to recent statistics, women normally outlive men and technologies have tended to ease the workload of women. This would suggest that the equilibrium of the principles involved in the delineation of women’s rights could change from time to time and that there is a need to reflect these changes.

1.5. Session III: Power-sharing and partnerships

The session chairperson, Ms. Watanabe, of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, indicated that the two resource persons for this session would focus respectively on national women’s machinery and on the impact of NGOs.

Dr. Patricia B. Licuanan began the first presentation by pointing out that it has been more than four years since the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing, China in September 1995. Dr Licuanan said it was important to ask what has happened since. She indicated that the ILO’s technical discussion paper for this meeting reports that the present characteristics of women’s employment include the following: women are over-represented in the informal sector; women are underemployed or work part-time to a greater extent than men; women are over-represented in unremunerated work; and poverty has a feminine face. The report also repeats earlier facts regarding the basic differentials that exist in the formal labour market, the number of women in vulnerable occupations, the violation of women workers’ rights and the under-representation of women in decision-making positions. It was pointed out that this analysis is quite similar to the situation analysis contained in the Beijing Platform for Action. This indicates that, the commitments made in Beijing notwithstanding, and despite the adoption of legislation aimed at the elimination of discrimination against women in the workplace, actual discrimination still exists. It also indicates that de jure equality (equality in law) is not yet matched by de facto equality (equality in fact).

Dr. Licuanan further pointed that this situation is not new. In the years since 1975, four world conferences on women have been held at five-year intervals with the exception of 1990. These were held in Mexico, 1975; Copenhagen, 1980; Nairobi 1985; and Beijing 1995. In 1990 the Commission on the Status of Women reviewed the implementation of the Forward Looking Strategies of the Nairobi (1985) Conference and decided to hold the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing 1995). The review identified the need for drastic action if the goals outlined in the Forward Looking Strategies were to be achieved by the year 2000. It revealed two important findings. First, it noted there had been significant changes soon after the Nairobi world conference particularly in the area of legislation and that countries had consciously reviewed existing laws and changed those that were discriminatory towards women in conformity with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. However the second finding noted that these changes had tended to level off and the implementation of related laws was much slower in coming. In deciding to hold the fourth world conference the Commission on the Status of Women emphasized that this conference should focus on: i) priority areas of concern and strategic objectives in order to more rapidly reach the desired goals of equality, development and peace; and ii) recommend more specific actions.

One conclusion that can be drawn from the historical experience of these successive conferences is that barriers to gender equality lie not merely in the legal system but in the socio-cultural system as well. Some of the cultural obstacles in women’s world of work include: the traditional distinction between men’s work and women’s work; traditional attitudes towards women’s work; protective attitudes toward women; viewing women’s work as marginal and dispensable; and a scarcity of adequate role models for women. A useful conceptual framework was presented for analyzing cultural stereotypes in the world of work and the interactive downward spiral that can obtain between unfavorable gender role stereotypes, a lower status of women and gender equity variables within the world of work. This can be a useful tool when seeking to better understand and addressing the preceding cultural obstacles. It was also suggested that the ILO and its tripartite partners might make a more proactive effort to change not simply the rules but the culture of the workplace to encourage sharing of power and genuine partnership. Among the suggested means for achieving this were communication programmes, gender sensitivity training, projection of role models, public recognition e.g. awards to gender sensitive establishments, and promoting management and employer awards.

Another major conclusion involved "value-added partnerships" at the national levels – in order to achieve a better implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action it was important that more of these were established, and that they were more effective. The important role of national machineries for women in the implementation of the Platform was recognized and emphasized. Even so, almost every country in the region already has such a machinery for the advancement of women and the promotion of gender equality. The constraints of small staffs, limited budgets and lack of political clout remain realities and pose an obstacle to progress despite improvements since 1995. Thus, despite such efforts to promote gender mainstreaming to ensure that gender concerns are more systematically taken into account in the policies and programmes of government agencies and other partners, this does not happen easily. The ILO can help bring this about by working closely with national machineries while improving links their other natural partners. Partnership with the ILO, for instance, can give national machineries better entry into labour departments. In addition, although the private sector has not been a traditional partner of national machineries, this has recently blossomed in the wake of a significant increase in interest in women’s issues at APEC. Workers’ organizations and trade unions can also form additional value-added partnerships with the national machineries. The ILO is in a unique position to help ensure that all these processes occur more effectively because of its tripartite nature and constituency. Value-added partnerships were seen as important approaches to a better implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action.

A number of specific action points were additionally recommended for a broader set of stakeholders including governments, national bodies, the private sector, political parties, trade unions, employers’ organizations, research and academic institutions, sub-regional and regional bodies and non-governmental and international organizations. These action points were classified into three areas: i) equal representation of women and men in all sectors and at all levels; ii) better monitoring mechanisms to measure and ensure attainment of these goals; and iii) actions aimed at cultural and attitudinal change to make new roles for women and men possible. Important specific action points mentioned under these rubrics were: a) taking positive action to build a critical mass of women leaders, executives and managers in strategic decision-making positions; b) creating or strengthening, as appropriate, mechanisms to monitor women’s access to senior levels of decision making; c) reviewing the criteria for recruitment and appointment to advisory and decision-making bodies and promotion to senior positions to ensure that such criteria are relevant and do not discriminate against women; d) encourage efforts by non-governmental organizations, trade unions and the private sector to achieve equality between women and men in their ranks, including equal participation in their decision-making bodies and in negotiations in all areas and at all levels; e) developing communications strategies to promote public debate on the new roles of men and women in society and in the family; f) restructuring recruitment and career development programmes to ensure that all women, especially young women, have equal access to managerial, entrepreneurial, technical and leadership training, including on-the-job training; and g) developing career advancement programs for women of all ages that include career planning, tracking, mentoring, coaching, training and retraining. The appropriate stakeholders previously identified should address the preceding action points. Dr. Licuanan concluded by indicating that in working to achieve cultural change, national machineries must practice patience, persistence and passion. She emphasized the importance of enthusiasm and the wish and passionate desire to bring about change, saying both were indispensable ingredients of sustained effort.

The second resource person to address the session, Thanpuying Sumalee Chartikavanij, President of Thai Women Watch, discussed the role of NGOs in advancing women and promoting gender equality. She too pointed out that although progress has been made since the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action there is no question that much more remains to be done. The position of women, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, has never been more precarious and more fraught with difficulties and deceptions than it is today. Sixty percent of the world’s women live in this region and they are among the poorest in the world. Globalization has not been the expected panacea but quite the contrary. Moreover, progress cannot be equated with economic mobility alone and help cannot come from outside the region if there is not local impetus to support it. For all these reasons the NGO movement has gathered force and strength over the past decade and is now a very important instrument in the context of the success of the women’s movement.

It is only the growth of non-government organizations, people’s movements and alliances working for women’s empowerment that can translate the hopes and visions for a better future of the women of the Asia Pacific region into a reality. Recently the Asia Pacific Regional Symposium "Asia Pacific 2000; Gender Equality Development and Peace" was held in Bangkok, Thailand. This symposium brought together 500 people representing NGOs from 28 countries. The Declaration adopted by the Symposium on 3 September 1999 called upon the world’s governments to have the courage and commitment to translate the high hopes of the Beijing Platform for Action – "mutual respect, equality and justice" – into concrete actions that can be shared by women in the Asia Pacific region.

Some of the main points of this Declaration were as follows. The women of the Asia-Pacific region are determined to strive for a position of individual and social dignity in which they feel strong, active, creative and empowered and wherein their diverse abilities and talents are valued and they can express themselves with confidence and without fear of violence. Resources, sustainably used, must be shared equally between men and women and equally distributed within and between States, and women fully empowered should participate equally in the definition of structures, systems and policies that determine the framework of their lives.

Affordable services addressing the primary health needs of women was a significant failure ascribed to many governments in the region, as was the lack of gender-sensitive educational policies. Violence against women, exploitation of women and the girl-child, and the inadequate attention paid to those who have been marginalized because of sex, race, language, ethnicity, culture, religion, disability, age or socio-economic status, is continuing and should be deplored. Singled out most strongly was the lack of political will to empower women beyond statements which were rarely translated into action and the all too frequent reliance on micro-schemes and initiatives to address macro, systemic or structural problems. A final important message had been delivered by the Bangkok Regional NGO Symposium’s keynote speaker. Linda Burney, the Australian Aboriginal activist, told the gathering that the biggest challenge women faced in the immediate future was adequate political representation, not just in the community sector, but more importantly in the government sector: "In order for women’s issues to be taken seriously, women have to increase their numbers in Parliament," Ms Burney said.

Comments by Employers’ spokesperson – Ms. Barbara Burton, Legal Advisor, New Zealand Employers’ Federation.

Employers are increasingly aware that it makes sound economic sense to maximize the effective use of all the human resources at their disposal. Therefore employers should motivate employees and provide them with appropriate responsibilities based on merit. However, the reality is that women are sometimes disproportionately under-represented in decision-making positions in the private sector and therefore employers’ organizations can play a role in promoting power sharing between women and men, including within their own organizations. Since prescriptive means (legislation) are often unsuccessful, employers would support voluntary initiatives to develop and promote equal opportunity policies and practices at the workplace. Some of these have been identified in the technical report for this consultation. In particular employers’ and employees’ organizations can: i) promote the establishment of separate institutions that promote gender equality at work; ii) incorporate gender concerns in collective agreements where appropriate; iii) provide training and support to enterprise, women workers, and women entrepreneurs; iv) help raise awareness of issues of current importance where necessary; and v) work with appropriate agencies to collect data that is gender disaggregated. The ILO can assist employers with appropriate technical advice and assistance on all the matters mentioned.

Workers believe that women, who constitute half of the world’s population, must be included in power sharing and equal partnership to realize a truly equal society. In the wake of the Beijing Platform for Action, most of the UN member States have set up a women’s department or a monitoring mechanism to actively take up gender issues. However, governments have not given departments or mechanisms enough power or funding. The workers call on governments to ensure that women’s departments initiate legislation on women’s issues, and to provide adequate funding to the women’s departments and the monitoring mechanisms. The workers also call on governments to amend legislation to increase women’s representation and participation in decision-making by such means as reserving seats for women and introducing quota systems and affirmative actions. Gender mainstreaming should be integrated in policy-making and implementation. In every decision-making body, women’s participation should be guaranteed. In order to achieve women’s empowerment, it is essential to give due recognition to women’s contribution to the economy, society and the nation. More education and training should be provided on issues including power sharing, sharing responsibilities, and equal partnership among workers, employers and governments. Power sharing starts at home and we should remember that all issues are women’s issues.

Participants urged a number of improvements to the performance of various stakeholders in order to speed progress towards the advancement of women and the promotion of gender equality. Ms. Kyungjin Song of ICFTU-APRO, Singapore, indicated that some governments have shown insufficient political will to promote gender equality. Women’s departments or monitoring mechanisms often have not been given the power to initiate legislation on women’s issues and they have not received sufficient funding. Information on gender issues and the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action have not been made available to trade unions and the unions have not been included in the consultation and implementation process. Moreover not all member States in the Asia Pacific region have ratified the relevant Conventions on women and the ILO should step up its efforts to encourage these countries to ratify. However, the ICFTU’s internal gender policy to achieve 30 per cent women’s participation has been very successful and has increased women’s representation and participation in all decision-making bodies. Even so regarding women’s participation Ms. Lorraine Corner of UNIFEM pointed out that although goodwill and passion may be important in their own right, they are not a substitute for solid institutionalized requirements for women’s participation. She congratulated the ILO on its monitoring of the participation of women in its own meetings and delegations. Ms. Mercy Ravi of NTUC, India indicated that slots should be reserved for women at all decision-making levels so that they may also serve as role models for the grass root levels. Ms. Maria Lovaga of the Department of Labour and Employment in Papua New Guinea indicated that NGOs have not always maintained their role as society’s conscience in making public calls that draw attention to gender equality issues and promote international agreements and understandings. Finally it was suggested by Ms. Jovie Vence of the Brotherhood of Asian Trade Unionists that the ILO should expand its traditional social partners to also include tripartite-plus groups and organizations representing women.

Separate working groups were organized after each of the three technical presentations made to the plenary. The results of the discussions on each topic were then consolidated to arrive at a Common Understanding. The Common Understanding is presented in the Annex.

The deliberations of the working groups and the resulting Common Understanding on the three themes of the consultation was the subject of discussions at the closing session of the consultation.

Ms. Shipra Chatterjee of the FICCI Ladies organization, India suggested that the following modifications be made:

-point 5: insert "after consultation with the national government" after the words "donor funding"

Ms. Betsy Selvaratnam of the Ceylon Workers Congress pointed out that trade unions are responsive to all aspects of the world of work and workers' concerns whereas NGOs focus only on particular parts of it. Both have legitimate, but distinctive roles to play.

Ms. Preet Verma of the Misnistry of Labour, Government of India, wished to see the following modifications made to the common understanding:

-point 1b: insert "whenever possible" between "standards" and "as well as"

-point 5: insert "after consultation with the national government" after the words "donor funding"

                    -point 6b: replace "conclude" by "consider concluding"

                    -point 6d: replace "ensure" by "consider ensuring"

          -point 16: add the following sentence at the end: "governments need to consider this aspect keeping in mind      their particular national situations"

Ms. Mercy Ravi of the Indian National Trade Union Congress regretted the absence of any reference to women in conflict situations, where they face particularly acute problems.

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

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