Promoting women’s access to decent work and equality in employment in indonesia
To further promote economic and social empowerment of women, the International Labour Organization (ILO) will conduct a one-day national workshop, “Promoting women’s access to decent work and equality in employment in Indonesia”, on Wednesday, 16 January 2013, at Sari Pan Pacific Hotel, Jakarta.
JAKARTA (ILO News): In spite of an expansion of employment opportunities over the past decade, and significant gains in increasing girls’ access to and participation in education, Indonesian women still do not participate equally in the labour market. Women workers continue to be concentrated in the informal economy, particularly women homeworkers and home-based women workers in micro small enterprises (MSEs), where wages, working conditions and job security are typically poorer. Approximately one third of working women are also engaged in unpaid work.
In addition, women continue to face significant cultural, social, economical and religious barriers to employment and to equal treatment in employment. Gender-based job segregation also tends to trap women in low-level jobs with minimal decision-making functions, impacting on perceived opportunities for younger generations entering the labour force.
To further promote economic and social empowerment of women, the International Labour Organization (ILO) will conduct a one-day national workshop, “Promoting women’s access to decent work and equality in employment in Indonesia”, on Wednesday, 16 January 2013, at Sari Pan Pacific Hotel, Jakarta. The workshop will be officially opened by Country Director of the ILO in Indonesia, Peter van Rooij.
The workshop is conducted by the ILO through its Access to Employment and Decent Work Project. The Project is implemented under the AusAID’s programme called MAMPU, aimed to improve access and livelihoods for poor women in Indonesia and to promote economic and social empowerment of women, particularly home-based women-run MSEs and women homeworkers in the putting out system. The workshop also marks the implementation stage of the Project in the country which will begin in 2013 and will run for the next 7 years.
“The promotion of decent work and gender equality is at the heart of the Organization’s efforts towards the goal of improving the living and working conditions of women. Experience has shown that women’s empowerment is central to the success of the development at the country level, including Indonesia. The economic and social empowerment of women is a highly important objective and is essential for the achievement of sustainable human development,” said Peter van Rooij, the ILO’s Country Director.
The workshop will provide a forum for dialogue and knowledge sharing among relevant stakeholders on barriers to employment and decent work for women, including pay inequality and challenges faced by women workers in the formal and informal economy in national and global supply chains. The workshop will also discuss the national legal framework for better protecting and promoting women workers’ rights, particularly the rights of women to decent employment.
Key findings of two new studies will be presented in the workshop. The first study is a joint research of ILO and Tufts University of United States on barriers to women’s employment and discrimination in employment. This study was conducted in two provinces: North Sumatra and East Java. The second study reveals key findings on pay equality and undervaluation of women’s work in Indonesia. These key findings will be presented by Professor Drusilla Brown of Tufts University.
In addition, the workshop and Project also pays attention to challenges faced by women in the informal economy, particularly women homeworkers and home-based women workers in micro small enterprises. These types of women workers in the putting out system undergo a highly exploitative situation—working for long hours and earning sub-minimum wages with little or no bargaining power, close to zero job security, poor occupational health and safety standards and no legal recourse in Indonesia. This system violates fundamental economic and social rights of these workers.
For further information please contact:
Miranda Fajerman, Chief Technical Adviser of the ILO’s Mampu Project, Tel.: +6221 391 3112 ext. 167, Email: fajerman@ilo.org
Gita Lingga, Media Relations Officer, Tel.: +6221 3913112 ext. 115, Mobile: +628158845833, Email: gita@ilo.org
In addition, women continue to face significant cultural, social, economical and religious barriers to employment and to equal treatment in employment. Gender-based job segregation also tends to trap women in low-level jobs with minimal decision-making functions, impacting on perceived opportunities for younger generations entering the labour force.
To further promote economic and social empowerment of women, the International Labour Organization (ILO) will conduct a one-day national workshop, “Promoting women’s access to decent work and equality in employment in Indonesia”, on Wednesday, 16 January 2013, at Sari Pan Pacific Hotel, Jakarta. The workshop will be officially opened by Country Director of the ILO in Indonesia, Peter van Rooij.
The workshop is conducted by the ILO through its Access to Employment and Decent Work Project. The Project is implemented under the AusAID’s programme called MAMPU, aimed to improve access and livelihoods for poor women in Indonesia and to promote economic and social empowerment of women, particularly home-based women-run MSEs and women homeworkers in the putting out system. The workshop also marks the implementation stage of the Project in the country which will begin in 2013 and will run for the next 7 years.
“The promotion of decent work and gender equality is at the heart of the Organization’s efforts towards the goal of improving the living and working conditions of women. Experience has shown that women’s empowerment is central to the success of the development at the country level, including Indonesia. The economic and social empowerment of women is a highly important objective and is essential for the achievement of sustainable human development,” said Peter van Rooij, the ILO’s Country Director.
The workshop will provide a forum for dialogue and knowledge sharing among relevant stakeholders on barriers to employment and decent work for women, including pay inequality and challenges faced by women workers in the formal and informal economy in national and global supply chains. The workshop will also discuss the national legal framework for better protecting and promoting women workers’ rights, particularly the rights of women to decent employment.
Key findings of two new studies will be presented in the workshop. The first study is a joint research of ILO and Tufts University of United States on barriers to women’s employment and discrimination in employment. This study was conducted in two provinces: North Sumatra and East Java. The second study reveals key findings on pay equality and undervaluation of women’s work in Indonesia. These key findings will be presented by Professor Drusilla Brown of Tufts University.
In addition, the workshop and Project also pays attention to challenges faced by women in the informal economy, particularly women homeworkers and home-based women workers in micro small enterprises. These types of women workers in the putting out system undergo a highly exploitative situation—working for long hours and earning sub-minimum wages with little or no bargaining power, close to zero job security, poor occupational health and safety standards and no legal recourse in Indonesia. This system violates fundamental economic and social rights of these workers.
For further information please contact:
Miranda Fajerman, Chief Technical Adviser of the ILO’s Mampu Project, Tel.: +6221 391 3112 ext. 167, Email: fajerman@ilo.org
Gita Lingga, Media Relations Officer, Tel.: +6221 3913112 ext. 115, Mobile: +628158845833, Email: gita@ilo.org