ASIA and the Pacific are losing up to $47 billion annually because of women’s limited access to employment opportunities, according to a new report.
The report, a joint publication of the International Labor Organization and the Asian Development Bank, also said while the annual average employment growth for 2000-2007 was higher for Asian women than for men, 45 percent of working-age Asian women were inactive compared to 19 percent of men.
In the Philippines, 90 percent of agricultural workers are informal.
The link between working in the informal economy and being poor is stronger for women than for men, said the report.
It defined "informal sector" as employment and production that takes place in small, unincorporated or unregistered enterprises.
Employees are considered to have informal jobs if their employment is not subject to labor laws, income tax, social protection or benefits such as pay severances, paid annual vacations, sick leaves, among others.
They may be self-employed, working in family enterprises or in subsistence farming.
Males dominate in all industry types except in the private household category where, in the Philippines, 86 percent are women.
Women also accounted for 61 percent of all informal traders in the Philippines.
Jobs were disproportionately hit during the global economic crisis. In the Philippines, most lay-offs were in export processing zones, where typically 75 percent of workers are women.
Remittances proved remarkably resilient, especially in countries where there is a relatively large share of female migrants like the Philippines.
The informal economy is not crisis-proof, according to the report, pointing out that in the Philippines, "the labor burden on women has increased in the face of the crisis, as they are forced to evolve to ‘alternatives’ to cushion the blow of poverty."
Women had to take on second jobs or sidelines and other alternative income sources that will bridge the family from one day to the next.
"It is up to the woman to ensure that there is food on the table and that the most immediate needs of the household – water and health care – are met. For this, she has come up with ingenious ways of producing the money needed to buy sustenance," the report said.
Asia’s strong economic rebound has not been matched by gender-equitable recovery in the labor market. Although employment levels in many countries were higher in 2010 than a year earlier, economic recovery did not match the labor market.
Wage employment actually contracted and vulnerable employment grew by 9 percent in the Philippines.
During the recent crisis in the Philippines, a day after the loss of 42,000 jobs in the female-dominated garments, semi-conductor, and electronics industries was reported, the government responded by announcing the creation of 41,000 new jobs through government infrastructure projects.
"Although this stimulus was badly needed, the benefits will most likely accrue almost exclusively to men, even where women are bearing the disproportionate impact of job losses," said the report launched in time for the May 1 Labor Day and the 100th International Women’s Day.
"Gender inequality in labor markets remains a persistent phenomenon," the report said.
Women continue to disproportionately face a range of multiple challenges relating to access to employment, choice of work, working conditions, employment security, wage parity, discrimination, and balancing the competing burdens of work and family responsibilities, it says.
Most women work in a narrow range of jobs, many of which are vulnerable and insecure.
Women are also increasingly migrating in larger numbers due to limited labor market opportunities at home.
In addition, women are heavily represented in the informal economy where their exposure to risk of exploitation is usually greatest and they have the least formal protection.
Discrimination against Asia’s female labor force of 734 million women remains pervasive, the report said.
Despite robust economic growth in the region between 2000 and 2007, gender gaps persist.
While Asian women have fared relatively better than women in many other regions of the world, their full productive potential remains untapped, the report said.
"The quality of their employment typically leaves them disadvantaged and vulnerable compared to men," it said. "Women are mostly found in low-productivity agricultural employment and in vulnerable and low-paid informal jobs."
Source: www.malaya.com.ph
The report, a joint publication of the International Labor Organization and the Asian Development Bank, also said while the annual average employment growth for 2000-2007 was higher for Asian women than for men, 45 percent of working-age Asian women were inactive compared to 19 percent of men.
In the Philippines, 90 percent of agricultural workers are informal.
The link between working in the informal economy and being poor is stronger for women than for men, said the report.
It defined "informal sector" as employment and production that takes place in small, unincorporated or unregistered enterprises.
Employees are considered to have informal jobs if their employment is not subject to labor laws, income tax, social protection or benefits such as pay severances, paid annual vacations, sick leaves, among others.
They may be self-employed, working in family enterprises or in subsistence farming.
Males dominate in all industry types except in the private household category where, in the Philippines, 86 percent are women.
Women also accounted for 61 percent of all informal traders in the Philippines.
Jobs were disproportionately hit during the global economic crisis. In the Philippines, most lay-offs were in export processing zones, where typically 75 percent of workers are women.
Remittances proved remarkably resilient, especially in countries where there is a relatively large share of female migrants like the Philippines.
The informal economy is not crisis-proof, according to the report, pointing out that in the Philippines, "the labor burden on women has increased in the face of the crisis, as they are forced to evolve to ‘alternatives’ to cushion the blow of poverty."
Women had to take on second jobs or sidelines and other alternative income sources that will bridge the family from one day to the next.
"It is up to the woman to ensure that there is food on the table and that the most immediate needs of the household – water and health care – are met. For this, she has come up with ingenious ways of producing the money needed to buy sustenance," the report said.
Asia’s strong economic rebound has not been matched by gender-equitable recovery in the labor market. Although employment levels in many countries were higher in 2010 than a year earlier, economic recovery did not match the labor market.
Wage employment actually contracted and vulnerable employment grew by 9 percent in the Philippines.
During the recent crisis in the Philippines, a day after the loss of 42,000 jobs in the female-dominated garments, semi-conductor, and electronics industries was reported, the government responded by announcing the creation of 41,000 new jobs through government infrastructure projects.
"Although this stimulus was badly needed, the benefits will most likely accrue almost exclusively to men, even where women are bearing the disproportionate impact of job losses," said the report launched in time for the May 1 Labor Day and the 100th International Women’s Day.
"Gender inequality in labor markets remains a persistent phenomenon," the report said.
Women continue to disproportionately face a range of multiple challenges relating to access to employment, choice of work, working conditions, employment security, wage parity, discrimination, and balancing the competing burdens of work and family responsibilities, it says.
Most women work in a narrow range of jobs, many of which are vulnerable and insecure.
Women are also increasingly migrating in larger numbers due to limited labor market opportunities at home.
In addition, women are heavily represented in the informal economy where their exposure to risk of exploitation is usually greatest and they have the least formal protection.
Discrimination against Asia’s female labor force of 734 million women remains pervasive, the report said.
Despite robust economic growth in the region between 2000 and 2007, gender gaps persist.
While Asian women have fared relatively better than women in many other regions of the world, their full productive potential remains untapped, the report said.
"The quality of their employment typically leaves them disadvantaged and vulnerable compared to men," it said. "Women are mostly found in low-productivity agricultural employment and in vulnerable and low-paid informal jobs."
Source: www.malaya.com.ph
That too bad for women in Asia. I think Asian women are capable in different jobs. It is just that this traditional mentality (that women are weak)too affects so much the working perspective of Asian people. Hopefully, that would be changed and that there will be a wide access of jobs for women.
ReplyDeleteSee Cagayan de Oro.