To close pervasive gender gaps in the world of work, it is critical to address the structural barriers impeding women’s full access to decent work and economic opportunities. To this end, the ILO has developed two new reports addressing two areas impeding women’s ability to get in, stay in and progress in the labour force are discrimination, including pay discrimination, and women’s disproportionate share of unpaid care burdens. It is in this direction; the office has produced two evidence-based study reports on the care economy and the gender pay gap in Sri Lanka to intensify knowledge development and capacity-building activities, and with that supporting country-level efforts to reduce gender inequality in the world of work and promote decent work for all.
The care economy and decent work in Sri Lanka’s future of work
In March 2019, the ILO Country Office in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, in collaboration with TANDEM Research, presented its report on The Future of Work in Sri Lanka: Shaping Technology Transitions for a Brighter Future, to the Hon. Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in the presence of members of the government, senior officials, policymakers and social partners. The study highlighted opportunities and challenges in Sri Lanka’s world of work transformation up to 2030, including the areas of automation, employment conditions, and labour market inequalities. It spotlighted three ‘Bright Spots’ for potential growth, emphasizing the care economy as a resilient sector against automation and a source of decent work opportunities, further underscored by the COVID-10 pandemic.
The ILO has previously observed that the care economy is growing as the demand for childcare and care for the elderly is increasing in all regions and thus will create a great number of jobs in the coming years. However, care work across the world remains characterised by a void of benefits and protections, low wages or non-compensation, and exposure to physical, mental and, in some cases, sexual harm. Recognizing the need for reform in care policies and worker conditions, the ILO Country Office in Sri Lanka and the Maldives commissioned a follow-up study in 2022 focusing on Sri Lanka’s care economy. The study provides a thorough analysis of the current legal and policy framework, the evolution, and types of care work across the informal and formal economy, the factors influencing entry into care work, and the employment opportunities within this sector and also forecasts trends up to 2030.
The gender pay gap in Sri Lanka: A statistical review with policy implications
Sri Lanka faces a complex situation regarding gender equality, being 75th in the Global Gender Inequality Index. The National Policy on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (2023-33) notes that although women, make up 51 per cent of the population women’s labour force participation rate is 35.4 per cent, which is half of that of men’s labour force participation. Despite the constitutional provisions and international commitments, women face widespread gender-based discrimination in employment conditions, including wages. Hence, the situation of women in Sri Lanka is a mix of positive achievements and negative outcomes.
The National Policy on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (2023-33) also notes that women also face gender-based discrimination in the private sector on matters of employment and working conditions including wages and women continue to form a large majority of the working poor in the country and earn less income and are affected by long-term unemployment than men. Gender-based wage disparities are a hidden issue, where equal pay for equal work is not always followed, with gender-based discrimination seen in certain formal sector employment and widespread in informal sector employment. As for example, the study by Ranaraja et al., (2016) shows that in the private sector (including the informal sector), women workers can earn anywhere between 30-36 per cent less than their male counterparts. A disparity further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crises (Madurawala 2021, Ratwatte 2023), highlighting the urgent need for reliable data to tackle these issues.
In response, Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Labour requested the ILO to analyse wage trends, with a focus on estimating the gender pay gap as well as its causes and impacts on women’s economic performance in collaboration with its research arm the National Institute for Labour Studies (NILS).
Objectives
The objectives of this consultation include fostering a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities within the care economy, understanding the factors influencing care work, and identifying employment opportunities through formalization. Additionally, they aim to raise awareness about the extent of the gender pay gap, discuss regulatory and policy gaps, and gather stakeholder views to inform policies that promote equal pay for work of equal value, contributing to labour reform initiatives.
Consultation outcomes
The ILO Country office, based on the consultation and follow-up discussion with constituents, intends to develop a comprehensive roadmap for enabling care workers to overcome decent work deficits, access social protection and have a collective voice and to tackle the gender pay gap and promote equal pay for work of equal value, as well as identifying the capacity needs of the constituents on these two issues will be the key takeaway from this consultation.
Participants
The consultation will be participated by around 100 participants comprising of
Relevant Government Ministries/Departments
Trade Unions
Employer Organizations: Employers' Federation of Ceylon, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Womens' Chamber
Other stakeholders: Women Workers' organisations; Researchers; Civil Society Organisations; Private Sector Organizations.
Relevant UN Organizations,
Diplomatic Missions/Bilateral and Multilateral agencies
