ILO Calls for a Renewed Commitment towards attaining the Goals of Beijing Declaration and Platforms for Action

ABUJA (ILO News) - Two decades after the signing of a historic roadmap for women empowerment - the “Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action” - countries and organizations have been working hard to ensure its implementation. Despite some real achievements, a lot remains to be done.

According to the National Beijing + 20 Review published by the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, “Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action” has continued to provide a comprehensive policy and programmatic guide for achieving the goals of gender equality and human development.

Some achievements have been made in the areas of institutional development and mainstreaming of gender issues in public administration, increase in involvement and participation of women in socio-economic and political issues, partnership in promoting gender issues and empowerment of women, etc.

Women are enjoying more access to employment opportunities arising from access to qualitative education. Access to employment opportunities for women has translated to better wages, better purchasing power of women, improved standards of living, employment mobility, and freedom of choice.

The progress made so far can be attributed, in part, to ILO’s continuous dialogue with its social partners; this has led to the signing of relevant conventions and commitment of the government to domesticate and enforce the implementation of relevant conventions. For example, in 1995, most ILO member States, including Nigeria, ratified the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) and the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111).

Ratification of Convention 183 on Maternity Protection

Despite the achievements made so far, women are still facing challenges. Socio-cultural barriers, inadequate funding, insecurity and conflicts are everyday experiments. Nigeria still needs to do a lot more to further improve the condition of women as many women still continue to experience widespread discrimination and inequality in the workplace, gender violence, among others. The situation in North East presents a glaring example.
To better improve the condition of Nigerian women, ILO and its tripartite partners are calling the Federal Government of Nigeria to ratify and domesticate Convention 183 – Maternity Protection Convention, 2000.

In the area of jobs creation, women-led small businesses are also seen as a key driver of job creation and economic growth, even as more women are making giant strides in both formal and informal sectors of the economy. The current democratic process has also given women a voice in the affairs of the nation. Amongst the benefits are the facts that Nigerian women run for political offices, attain positions in the top echelon of social and professional groups, serve in the military, accomplish breakthroughs in science, achieve feats in medicine, and engineering, excel in arts achieve, distinguish themselves in judiciary, and occupy strategic positions in government and business.

“Are working women better off today than they were 20 years ago?” asked ILO Director-General Guy Ryder. “The answer is a qualified yes. Has this progress met our expectations? The answer is decidedly no. We need to be innovative, to reframe the debate and to intensify the focus on ensuring the rights of women at work, and promoting gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.”

The ILO has published a new working paper on the “motherhood pay gap” that imposes a wage penalty often over and above the wage gap already experienced by women worldwide.

According to “The motherhood pay gap: A review of the issues, theory and international evidence”, mothers often earn less than women without children, depending on where they live and how many children they have.

While we call on all Nigerians to join hands with the government, development and non-government organizations to work vigorously to address challenges that inhibit women from attaining their full potentials, we use the commemoration of International Women’s Day to remember our Chibok girls and appeal for their
immediate release.

For more information, contact: Pius UDO; email: [email protected]