Publications on Equality and discrimination

July 2017

  1. Publication

    A Study on Working Conditions of Tea Plantation Workers in Bangladesh

    13 July 2017

    The study looks at various aspects of working conditions of tea plantation workers in order to identify appropriate responses to ensure that they fully enjoy their labour rights, safe working conditions and fair remuneration.

July 2012

  1. Publication

    Desk review of research on HIV/AIDS in the world of work

    31 July 2012

    This desk review was conducted by ILO/AIDS as part of the Inter-Agency Task Team on HIV workplace policies/programmes and private sector engagement (IATT/WPPS). It is based primarily on the research documents shared by the IATT members, covering vulnerability studies, stigma and discrimination studies, impact and cost-benefit studies.

March 2012

  1. Publication

    Corporate brochure on ILO Programme on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work

    15 March 2012

    Prevent HIV, Protect Human Rights at Work

February 2012

  1. Publication

    Indigenous women workers - With case studies from Bangladesh, Nepal and the Americas

    15 February 2012

    This paper draws on the expertise and experience of two specialized ILO teams - the Programme to Promote ILO Convention No. 169 (PRO169) based in the International Labour Standards Department and the ILO’s Bureau for Gender Equality - with the aim of examining indigenous women’s position in the workforce.

January 2011

  1. Publication

    Breaking the rural poverty cycle: Getting girls and boys out of work and into school

    28 January 2011

    Instead of attending school, millions of girls and boys in rural areas worldwide are child labourers. They are everywhere, but often hidden, on farms, on fishing boats, in plantations, in mountain areas, herding livestock or toiling as domestic servants. Child labour perpetuates a cycle of poverty for the children involved, their families and communities. Without education, these rural boys and girls are likely to be the poor of tomorrow. Policies must address the root causes of child labour and promote decent work for adults in rural areas.

  2. Publication

    Making migration work for women and men in rural labour markets

    28 January 2011

    Many poor rural households see migration to urban or other rural areas, or abroad, as a strategy to escape poverty or improve the quality of their lives. Migration patterns vary by continent and even countries within continents, and change over time. One of the most significant changes in the last half century is the increasing proportion of women migrating: today, they constitute half of the international migrant population, often migrating independently as the main economic providers for their families. Driven by economic, social and political forces as well as new challenges (such as environmental degradation, natural disasters or climate change impacts), migration can bring, both benefits and costs to the migrants themselves, their families, and their communities of origin and destination, depending on the migrants’ profile and gender, and on labour market specificities.

  3. Publication

    Women in infrastructure works: Boosting gender equality and rural development!

    28 January 2011

    Gender is an important but largely neglected aspect of infrastructure planning and provision. Rural women pay a particularly high price for the lack of infrastructure, in time spent accessing water for domestic or agricultural uses, processing and marketing food and other agricultural or non-farm products, collecting firewood and reaching health services for themselves and their families. This ‘time poverty’ limits their ability to develop or access complementary sources of income. Rural infrastructure programmes can enhance women’s participation and benefits – as workers during construction and as beneficiaries of the asset(s) created.

  4. Publication

    Agricultural value chain development: Threat or opportunity for women’s employment?

    28 January 2011

    Agricultural markets are rapidly globalizing, generating new consumption patterns and new production and distribution systems. Value chains, often controlled by multinational or national firms and supermarkets, are capturing a growing share of the agri-food systems in developing regions. They can provide opportunities for quality employment for men and women, yet they can also be channels to transfer costs and risks to the weakest nodes, particularly women. They often perpetuate gender stereotypes that keep women in lower paid, casual work and do not necessarily lead to greater gender equality.

  5. Publication

    Rural women’s entrepreneurship is “good business”!

    28 January 2011

    Rural women increasingly run their own enterprises, yet their socio-economic contributions and entrepreneurial potential remain largely unrecognized and untapped. They are concentrated in informal, micro-size, low productivity and low-return activities. Enabling and gender responsive policies, services and business environments are crucial to stimulate the start up and upgrading of women’s businesses and thereby help generate decent and productive work, achieve gender equality, reduce poverty and ensure stronger economies and societies.

  6. Publication

    Investing in skills for socio-economic empowerment of rural women

    28 January 2011

    Skills development is key to improving rural productivity, employability and income-earning opportunities, enhancing food security and promoting environmentally sustainable rural development and livelihoods. Despite rural women’s major role in agriculture and other rural activities, higher barriers in education and training limit their participation in more productive and remunerative work, perform managerial and leadership roles and participate fully in the development of their communities. Targeted action is needed to dismantle these barriers.