Employment assistance for women in Asia
guidelines
| Foreword
Chapter 1: Introduction
1. Why the focus on women's employment assistance 2. Purpose of the guidelines 3. The ILO's role
Chapter 2: Women's employment and training in Asia: Issues and concerns
1. Insufficient recognition of women in the labour market 2. Low levels of education 3. Gender bias 4. Impact of structural adjustment 5. Policy issues 6. Training system constraints 7. Institutional barriers
Chapter 3: Strategic approach to employment assistance for women
Strategy element A: Create an enabling environment for women's employment and training Strategy element B: Enhance women's employability and productivity Strategy element C: Link women workers with the labour market and employment opportunities
Chapter 4: Practical measures to integrate gender concerns in programmes and projects 1. Preliminary steps 2. Planning and design stage 3. Implementation stage 4. Monitoring and evaluation stage |
Women's participation in the labour force in Asia has been increasing dramatically over the last two decades. This trend is likely to continue into the twenty first-century. Important gains have been made by women workers in employment and training, and in entry into diverse occupations and fields. But these gains in no way mask the persistent gender inequalities encountered by most of them in the labour market. In general, absolute indicators of women's status have improved but remain low in many countries in the region.
Equality of opportunity and treatment in employment between women and men is a fundamental and guiding principle of the ILO. It is a major and continuing challenge in Asia. Expanding women's access to employment, training and economic opportunities, improving the quality of their employment, enhancing their status in the labour market and protecting their rights as workers are priority concerns for the ILO and its tripartite constituents - governments, and employers' and workers' organizations.
The guidelines in this publication were discussed at the ILO/Japan Asian Regional Tripartite Workshop on Women's Employment Assistance (Bangkok, April 1996), which was the first ILO follow-up regional activity on women and gender issues of the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. The guidelines highlight the key socioeconomic, legal, political and cultural constraints faced by women workers. They draw on the experience and good practices in employment assistance shared by the tripartite partners at the workshop. They advocate strategic approaches in addressing women's issues which should act in unison and synergy for maximum impact. Policies and action are required to create an enabling environment for women's employment and training, to enhance their employability and productivity (including their access to non-traditional training and productive resources), and to link them with the labour market.
I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to Ms. Suvira Chaturvedi, ILO consultant, who served as resource person at the workshop and prepared the guidelines.
We hope government policy-makers and planners, and the social partners will find the guidelines useful for developing innovative employment assistance programmes.
William R. Simpson Director ILO East Asia Multidisciplinary Advisory Team (ILO/EASMAT)
Bangkok
November 1997
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