Gender Equality
in the World of Work
ILO Electronic Newsletter
No. 5, April–July 2003
This newsletter is produced three times yearly by the Bureau for Gender Equality, based at the secretariat
of the International Labour Organization (ILO). It is e-mailed to the organization’s staff and constituents,
the UN system, civil society groups and others interested in ILO initiatives concerning gender
mainstreaming and its activities to help promote equality between women and men.
Readers are encouraged to reproduce or circulate the text in full or part—kindly credit and inform the
Bureau for Gender Equality, ILO, 4 route des Morillons, 1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland, fax +41 22 799
6388, gender@ilo.org (also use to e-mail “subscribe” or “unsubscribe” requests), www.ilo.org/gender
EVENTS

World Day Against Child Labour
Some 1.2 million boys and girls of all ages are trafficked to and from all regions of the world,
said speakers at a World Day Against Child Labour panel, held on 12 June in Geneva. Gender
and age are closely correlated with the purpose of trafficking, according to the ILO International
Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) and ILO Department of Communication
(DCOMM), which jointly organized the event. Boys tend to be trafficked for forced labour in
commercial farming, petty crimes and the drug trade, while girls are mainly trafficked for
commercial sexual exploitation and domestic service.
The panel, opened by ILO Director-General Juan Somavia, marked the second world day to
bring attention to the problem which he described as “an assault to human dignity and an affront
to our common values”.
“Words are not enough”, said Mr. Somavia. “We need action”.
Trafficking of children is a criminal practice in which victims are compelled to perform
unwanted work. The children are moved within and across national borders through force,
coercion or deception. Adults who contribute to or profit from the practice—recruiters, document
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providers, transporters, corrupt officials and others—are defined as traffickers.
“One more trafficked child is one too many”, said keynote speaker Queen Rania of Jordan. “It is
time for the world to come together and say, ‘enough’….This brutal trade in human lives is a
billion-dollar industry. It enriches the greediest and cruelest among us—those who seek to profit
from human misery and despair. Yet no amount of money could equal the price that is paid by
the victims: the girls and boys who are taken from their families”.
The business of human trafficking, noted the Queen, was fueled by human poverty which
traffickers exploit. Raising awareness was key to addressing the problem including better
education, training for law enforcement, improved rehabilitation for trafficked children when
they come home, and commitment from national governments to prevent, protect and prosecute.
Most children who are trafficked wind up in commercial sexual exploitation. Less publicized
forms of trafficking, according to the ILO publication Unbearable to the Human Heart, push
children into service industries such as restaurants and bars; domestic service; and hazardous
work in factories, agriculture, construction, fishing, begging and even armed conflict.
During the panel, experts from Asia, Latin America and Africa spoke on tailored approaches to
tackling the problem of child trafficking in their respective areas, including gender-specific
interventions.
In the main port in Manila, Philippines, this included rescuing around 1,000 children between
2001 and 2002 as they were being transited through. Through coordinated efforts by the
Philippine Ports Authority, employers’ groups, porters’ associations, ferry boat personnel, police
and security guards were trained in spotting signs of human trafficking—which in the area
involves mostly young women and children—and taking action. The training and other efforts to
eliminate the trafficking were coordinated by Visayan Forum Foundation, a national NGO that
has been associated with IPEC in the Philippines since 1994.
The Gender and Development Programme of the Philippines Port Authority provided the
Visayan Forum Foundation with assistance to establish an office and halfway house as a
temporary shelter for rescued young women and adolescents. Such sustained initiatives, based on
ILO inputs, are ensuring rescued victims receive vocational training, counselling and
repatriation.
In Yunnan Province of China, “Women’s Homes” are key in combating trafficking and
providing information to help tackle the problem. The homes receive support in promoting rights
protection and development for women and children by the All China Women’s Federation,
which works with ILO. At the Women’s Homes, rescued victims are prepared for a trade or job
including learning about basic cost analysis skills and accessing micro-credit for entrepreneurial
activities.
The homes have become so popular that more than 50 have been established in neighbouring
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villages and other areas. Messages about the importance of gender equality are integrated into
activities including awareness-raising initiatives in villages to warn about trafficking. Education
efforts about equality between women and men, and girls and boys, are targeted to teachers,
police, government officials, journalists and male and female students.
The Yunnan Province along with Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam are covered
under the ILO Mekong Sub-Regional Project for Trafficking in Children and Women.
Contact: International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), ILO, 4 route des
Morillons, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland, tel. +41 22 799 6346, fax +41 22 799 8771, ipec@ilo.org,
www.ilo.org/ipec (click on World Day Against Child Labour to access Unbearable to the Human
Heart and related publications).
Department of Communication (DCOMM), ILO, 4 route des Morillons, 1211 Geneva,
Switzerland, tel. +41 22 799 7912, fax +41 22 799 8577, communication@ilo.org,
www.ilo.org/communication

Panel on Labour Dimensions of Human Trafficking
Trafficking in human beings, for either labour or sexual exploitation, is increasing around the
world. Yet research and actions to combat this slave trade—whose victims are mostly women
and girls—often fail to give due attention to underlying causes. These include deep-rooted
gender inequality, the disparity of work and income opportunities across regions, the impact of
grinding poverty, violence and discrimination at work, and the adverse impact of unenlightened,
restrictive migration policies.
These were points of consensus during an international panel with 300 participants, which was
held at ILO headquarters in Geneva on 4 June and entitled The Labour Dimensions of Human
Trafficking. The panel was held as a parallel event to the International Labour Conference and
was organized by the Gender Promotion Programme (GENPROM) of the ILO Employment
Sector, International Migration Programme (MIGRANT), and the Special Action Programme to
Combat Forced Labour.
Speakers included representatives of government, workers’ and employers’ organizations, as
well as ILO officials. A victim of trafficking also provided a human face to the issue, with the
moving story of her abduction and enslavery. Panel members discussed trafficking as a
manifestation of labour market failures and human rights violations, and solutions to the
problem.
“Human trafficking–the recruitment, transportation and exploitation of persons–is now high on
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the international agenda”, said Ms. Lin Lean Lim, Manager of GENPROM, “particularly
trafficking of women and children into commercial sex trade. However, the reliance on
restrictive international migration regimes focusing on border control and cracking down on
organized crime often has an unintended effect on combating trafficking. This is because these
measures work against the interests of migrant workers and the legitimate right of people to
move to seek work”.
Panel members agreed that to come to grips with human trafficking, comprehensive and
integrated approaches were required in origin, transit and destination countries.
During the event two publications were launched—Trafficking in Human Beings: New
Approaches to Combating the Problem, and Preventing Discrimination, Exploitation, and Abuse
of Women Migrant Workers: An Information Guide (see article in resources section).
Contact: Gender Promotion Programme (GENPROM), ILO, 4 route des Morillons, 1211
Geneva, Switzerland, tel. +41 22 799 6090, fax +41 22 799 7657, genprom@ilo.org,
www.ilo.org/genprom
International Migration Programme (MIGRANT), ILO, same address, tel. +41 22 799 6667, fax
+41 22 799 8836, migrant@ilo.org, www.ilo.org/migrant
Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour, ILO InFocus Programme on Promoting
the Declaration, same address, tel. +41 22 799 8337, fax +41 22 795 6561, declaration@ilo.org,
www.ilo.org/declaration

Commitment into Action: Making Gender Equality a Reality
Eliminating sex discrimination in the workplace benefits not only individuals but economies and
societies. Putting proclamations and policies on gender equality into action is now the challenge
to all nations and organizations at every level and in every area. These were some of the
messages on 9 June in Geneva at a parallel event, held by the Bureau for Gender Equality, to
coincide with the International Labour Conference.
Almost 350 participants, including 50 men, attended the panel on Commitment into Action: ILO
Constituents Making Gender Equality in the World of Work a Reality. Speakers—including
senior representatives of governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations, and donors—
shared their policies and actions to promote equality between women and men. They also
highlighted ILO initiatives and projects at the national level. The panel was chaired by Mr. Lee
Swepston, Chief of the ILO Equality and Employment Branch (EGALITE).
“We are approaching the issue of equality between the sexes in the workplace holistically”, said
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Ms. Margaret Wilson, Minister of Labour in New Zealand. “The inequality of women is not
confined to the workplace—it is found throughout our society. If we are to redress inequality we
must have an integrated approach, or what we call ‘a whole of Government’ approach with goals
and policy priorities for all women”.
She noted examples of measures taken in New Zealand to promote the Code of Employment
standards. These are the Pay and Employment Equity Taskforce which is focusing on the public
sector, the Paid Parental Leave Act which provides for 12 weeks parental leave, and the
Work/Life Balance Project which will be launched later this year.
Ms. Carmen Vildoso, Vice-Minister of Promotion of Employment and Micro- and Small
Enterprises within the Peruvian Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion, talked about the
Programa Femenino de Consolidación del Empleo (Programme for Promoting Women’s
Employment). She said this national programme’s objective was to improve the quality of life of
women entrepreneurs in the informal economy by facilitating their access to formal market
channels. Ms. Vildoso noted that the programme is being decentralized with the assistance of
municipalities and other relevant institutions.
Activities of the Federation of Uganda Employers (FUE) to promote empowerment of women,
said Executive Director Ms. Rosemary Ssenabulya, included their representation on the FUE
executive council and in delegations to national, regional and international meetings. A women’s
task force was promoting the interests of women managers, and networking was taking place
with women entrepreneur associations and other groups.
“While we enhance gender mainstreaming capacity of constituent organizations”, said Ms.
Ssenabulya, “the biggest challenge remains changing stereotypes and prejudices inside and
outside the labour market regarding supposed abilities and appropriate work for women and
men”.
Moving from a focus on women in development to mainstreaming gender issues was the goal of
efforts in the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), said Mr. Liming Wang, Deputy
Director of the ACFTU International Liaison Department. Entry points for the shift were the
well-organized structure of the federation, as well as the ability to reach grassroots members of
its organizations.
Efforts planned to sensitize and implement policies on gender equality and mainstreaming
throughout the federation and its member organizations included high level workshops to raise
awareness, exchange of experiences and lessons learned in other national contexts, training of
trainers, and inclusion of sex-disaggregated statistics in databases.
The Netherlands Minister for Development Cooperation remained committed to the promotion of
gender equality in all aspects of the Ministry’s work, said Mr. Jan van Renselaar, Senior Policy
Advisor of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with a dual track policy of gender
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mainstreaming and empowerment of women.
Dutch embassies in the 22 countries with which the Netherlands maintains extensive
development cooperation partnerships have gender experts on their staff. Gender budgeting—a
process that shows what percentage of a national budget benefits men and women respectively—
was the focus of a study by the Netherlands Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment last year,
which screened the budgets of three ministries. And the ILO-Netherlands partnership programme,
noted Mr. Van Renselaar, identified gender equality as a crosscutting activity, with the ultimate
aim that gender equality be mainstreamed throughout all of the ILO’s technical assistance
activities as well as its other work.
Ms. Evy Messell, Project Coordinator in the Bureau for Gender Equality, said the ILO Gender
Equality Partnership Fund aimed to help ILO constituents strengthen their capacity to take
positive action to increase gender equality in the world of work and within the constituents’
organizations.
Examples of efforts in 26 countries around the world included gender equality action plans
prepared by governments, and workers’ and employers’ organizations; building on expertise in
gender issues among staff and members of organizations; and strengthening gender dimensions
of legislation and national policy frameworks and processes, such as poverty reduction strategy
papers (PRSPs).
Contact: ILO Bureau for Gender Equality (see contact numbers on first page; more info about
the panel on www.ilo.org/gender).

Symposium on Women, Work and the Law
Sex discrimination in the workplace in four industrialized democracies—Canada, Germany,
Japan and the United States—was the focus of an event held 24 June in Tokyo, Japan. The
International Symposium on Women, Work and the Law: Promoting Gender Equality in the
Workplace, was supported by the ILO with the Asia Foundation, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, and
the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo.
Participants identified both challenges and opportunities in fluctuating economies and changing
labour markets vis-a-vis women in the world of work. They shared experiences and discussed
ways to help create work environments that are conducive to gender equality, as well as how laws
can serve as instruments of reform. Much attention focused on a recent case in a corporation
based in the United States concerning a good practice in gender-sensitive human resources
reform.
Ms. Mitsuko Horiuchi, Director of the ILO Office in Japan, concluded the symposium by stating
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that although some progress had been achieved in Japan, much remained to be done. Discussions
had highlighted the importance of securing relevant and applicable legislation, she noted.
However, there was still a need for awareness on the part of business about the benefits of human
resources management that is gender sensitive and promotes gender equality in the workplace.
Contact: ILO Office, United Nations University, 8th floor, Headquarters Bldg. 53-70 Jingumae
5-chome, Shibuya-Ku, Tokyo 150-0001, Japan, tel. +81 3 5467 2701, fax +81 3 5467 2700,
tokyo@ilotyo.or.ip, www.ilo.org/tokyo

Training of ILO Gender Audit Facilitators
At a training held 5-7 May in Geneva, around 15 women and men staff members learned about
facilitation techniques and participatory methods for conducting workshops as part of ILO gender
audits.
During the Second ILO Gender Audit, which began with an audit of the ILO Office in Pretoria,
South Africa in May, work units at ILO headquarters and field offices have volunteered to be
audited by four-member teams of facilitators. In each audit, which lasts about two weeks, staff
members of work units are interviewed by a facilitation team and take part in workshops that are
designed to promote self-assessment and learning about gender mainstreaming.
At the training held in ILO headquarters, participants learned about the objectives and approach
of the ILO gender audit. Using a revised manual for audit facilitators, they became familiar with
the components of an audit: carrying out a document review of a work unit, conducting
interviews of staff members of the work unit, designing and facilitating a participatory workshop
with administrative staff as well as one with technical and programme staff, and providing
feedback to work units about their good practices in gender mainstreaming as well as areas to
improve.
A session also focused on how to draft a report for the unit at the end of the audit using guiding
questions for issues to address, and formulating recommendations. Through role-playing and
other participatory methods, the new auditors learned about communication skills and facilitation
techniques for conducting feedback sessions. They also heard about lessons learned from several
members of audit facilitation teams from the First ILO Gender Audit, held from October 2001 to
April 2002.
Many of the newly-trained audit facilitators will participate over the next six months in eight
audits of ILO field offices and programmes at headquarters in Geneva.
Contact: ILO Bureau for Gender Equality (see contact numbers on front page, more info about
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the audit at www.ilo.org/gender).
TECHNICAL COOPERATION

Enhancing Gender Mainstreaming Capacity of ILO Constituents
Guidelines for integrating a gender perspective into any programme, legislation or policy related
to labour were drafted during a workshop held from 16-20 June in Jinja, Uganda. The workshop
was organized as part of activities in the country under the Inter-Regional Project on Enhancing
the Gender Mainstreaming Capacity of ILO Constituents, which is coordinated by the Bureau for
Gender Equality. Participants in the workshop included the national project coordinators,
representatives of the government and of workers' and employers' organizations, and consultants.
In addition to activities in Uganda, the project is taking place in Tanzania, Nepal and China. The
project aims to strengthen implementing partner organizations' capacity to integrate the
experiences and needs of women as well as of men into the design, implementation, monitoring
and evaluation of their policies and programmes. Its overall goal is to help ensure that women
and men benefit equally from the partners' activities.
A similar workshop for the project in Tanzania was held from 19-28 May in Dar es Salaam. The
national project coordinator and gender experts in labour law and the private sector drafted
generic gender mainstreaming guidelines. These will be used by the project’s implementing
partners: the government, and workers’ and employers’ organizations.
The draft generic guidelines were reviewed and validated during a workshop held in the same
city from 16-17 June with around 25 representatives of workers' organizations. The draft was also
reviewed and validated during a workshop from 18-19 June in Dar es Salaam with around 20
representatives of employers’ organizations.
The draft generic guidelines are being reviewed by the ILO Senior Gender Specialist in the
region, and by specialists at ILO headquarters in Geneva, before publication and translation into
local languages of the countries.
"The practical tools developed at the workshops will help implementing partners in each country
to evaluate their efforts from a gender perspective”, said Ms. Judica Makhetha, ILO Senior
Gender Specialist based in Harare, Zimbabwe. "The participatory approach used during the
workshops will also contribute to a greater sense of ownership toward the aims of the project and
thus enhance its sustainability".
Under the project in China, 15 participants met several times during April in Beijing to discuss
the framework for a guidance manual on gender mainstreaming capacity building. They included
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representatives of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the All China Federation of Trade
Unions (ACFTU), and the All China Women's Association.
During discussions, participants referred to a desk review of existing material that had been
carried out by the national project coordinator. A manual drafted during the meetings will be
validated and finalized for use by implementing partner organizations in the country to develop
tailor-made materials for their respective organizations.
In Nepal, some 25 members of the Central Trade Union attended a workshop from 15-17 April in
Kathmandu as part of project activities in the country. The aim of discussions was to enhance
participants' understanding of the importance of gender issues in the world of work. Sessions
were also held to build their knowledge and use of existing materials for integrating a gender
perspective in the Unions’ policies and programmes.
"We are designing tools in a participatory approach”, said Ms. Jyoti Tuladhar, ILO Senior
Gender Specialist based in New Delhi, India, “to make them contextualized and appropriate for
each partner involved in Nepal. In this way their sense of ownership of the tools is growing, with
an increased interest in using them”.
The national project coordinator in Nepal also held a training for ILO staff working to combat
bonded and/or child labour in the country. The aim of the training, which took place from 20-25
May in Kathmandu, was to sensitize participants to gender issues related to their work. Emphasis
was also placed on how activities and projects can be implemented in a gender-sensitive way.
Contact: ILO Bureau for Gender Equality (see contact numbers on front page, more info about
the project at www.ilo.org/gender)
AFRICA

Workshop in South Africa on HIV/AIDS and Child Labourers
Raising awareness about the links between child labour and children’s increased vulnerability,
especially girls’, to HIV infection was the aim of a workshop held 14-16 May in the Western
Cape, South Africa. The event was organized by the ILO Office based in Pretoria and the ILO
Subregional Office for Southern Africa based in Zimbabwe. Participants included representatives
of independent unions in the commercial agricultural sector.
“Educating parents, teachers and school-age children about the links between child labour and
heightened risk of infection to HIV is a key way to help prevent infection”, said Ms. Boshigo
Matlou, National Progamme Assistant in the ILO Pretoria Office, “as well as encouraging girls
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and boys to go to school instead of working”.
Participants highlighted the importance of raising awareness about these links among farm
owners who employ child labourers. At the end of the workshop, they formed the Western Cape
Agricultural Trade Union Coalition and issued a policy statement condemning the practice of
child labour, especially its worst forms.
Contact: ILO Office, PO Box 11694, Hatfield 0018, Pretoria, South Africa, tel. +2712 431 88 01,
fax +2712 431 88 59, pretoria@ilo.org
ILO Subregional Office for Southern Africa, PO Box 210, Harare, Zimbabwe, tel. +263 4
369805/06 up to 12, fax +263 4 369813/4, harare@ilo.org, www.ilo.org/mdtharare

Workshop in Zambia on HIV/AIDS and Child Labourers
Male attitudes and behaviours are important factors in putting girls and boys at risk of sexual
exploitation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Boys, male adolescents and men should be sensitized about
the implications of male sexual norms for spreading HIV/AIDS. And males and the media are
important channels for bringing about change in these norms, and expanding awareness about the
link between child labour and HIV/AIDS.
These were some of the gender dimensions that were highlighted during discussions at a
workshop held 6-8 May in Lusaka, Zambia on The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Child Labour in SubSaharan Africa. The event was organized by the ILO International Programme on the Elimination
of Child Labour (IPEC) and the ILO Office based in Lusaka, in cooperation with the ILO
Programme on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work (ILO/AIDS), and ILO Offices in South Africa,
Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
At the end of the workshop a strategy paper and plan of action were adopted by around 50
participants including representatives of governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations,
UN entities, civil society groups, and child labour and HIV/AIDS experts.
During discussions participants stressed the link between child labour and HIV/AIDS. This link
was illustrated in qualitative research papers and in the collection of good practices
commissioned by IPEC, which were presented during the workshop. Reports of research
findings, which were part of a two-year project, addressed these issues from a gender perspective
in South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe (see articles in resources section).
In each of the reports, it was found that child labour is exacerbated by the HIV/AIDS pandemic,
and that the two problems mutually reinforce each other. In addition, analysis of child labour
quantitative and qualitative data showed that with one or both parents dead, more children work
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and fewer attend schools than if one or both parents are alive.
Child labour participation also varies by whether the mother or father has died, with boys and
girls who have lost a mother more likely to enter child labour. Both HIV/AIDS and child labour,
according to the research, arise from and exist within a socio-economic context of
impoverishment, neglect, income inequality and sex discrimination.
According to some of the country-based research, girls are more likely to drop out of school
when one or both parents die of AIDS, and are more likely to be involved in work that heightens
their vulnerability to HIV infection, such as domestic work and commercial sexual exploitation.
Men who sexually exploit children are not fully aware of the negative effects of existing male
sexual norms. On the other hand, the major role of women and girls in care giving to those
infected or affected by HIV/AIDS is not adequately acknowledged or taken into account by
policy makers.
The workshop strategy paper calls on IPEC to assist governments, in coordination with social
partners and other international organizations, by identifying key areas of intervention and by
stimulating time-bound action from a gender perspective. It calls for sex-disaggregated statistics
and more quantitative research on the links between AIDS orphanhood, socio-economic
circumstances and child labour.
The paper also calls for national and international research and programmes that incorporate the
concept of poverty as a main cause of HIV/AIDS prevalence and child labour perpetuation in
Sub-Saharan Africa. It says that these should use disaggregated data in terms of sex, ethnicity,
class and age.
Contact: International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), ILO, 4 route des
Morillons, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland, tel. +41 22 799 6346, fax +41 22 799 8771, ipec@ilo.org,
www.ilo.org/ipec
ILO Office, PO Box 32181, ZA 10101 Lusaka, Zambia, tel. +260 1 22 80 71, fax +260 1 22 32
77, ndaba@ilo.org

Seminar in Egypt on Gender Mainstreaming in the World of Work
Participants from eight Anglophone African countries met in Cairo, Egypt from 12-16 July to
discuss ways of integrating gender into the world of work. The event was organized by the
African Regional Labour Administration Centre (ARLAC), based in Zimbabwe, in cooperation
with the ILO Subregional Office in Harare. Participants came from Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana,
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Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa and Sudan.
"This seminar addresses the need to mainstream gender in the work of the tripartite constituents
of the ILO”, said Ms. Judica Makhetha, ILO Senior Gender Specialist in the Subregional Office.
“For this reason representatives of governments, and employers' and workers' organizations,
discussed the gaps and constraints in attainment of gender equality in the world of work in their
respective countries. This was done with the aim of exchanging information, experience and
ideas on how best to address these constraints. As the seminar was a follow up to a similar one in
2001 in Harare, the participants shared experiences including improved national response to
gender issues in the world of work. The highlight of the Cairo seminar was the lessons learned
from the ILO project on enhancing the capacity of constituents in Uganda and Tanzania. The
approach used by the inter-regional project—including participatory assessments of the capacity
of the constituents for gender mainstreaming, and development of practical tools—was highly
appreciated by participants”.
During the Cairo seminar, experience sharing was enhanced with the participation of two
National Project Coordinators—one based in Tanzania and the other in Uganda—of the interregional project (see article in technical cooperation section). The inter-regional project covers
these two countries as well as China and Nepal. It aims to strengthen implementing partner
organizations' capacity to integrate the experiences and needs of women as well as of men into
the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of their policies and programmes.
At the Cairo seminar, sessions and themes were designed so that issues related to gender
mainstreaming could be approached from a holistic perspective within the framework of Decent
Work. Themes addressed included conceptual frameworks, human and legal rights relating to
gender, employment and social protection, and social dialogue.
Participants also discussed policy and legislative frameworks aimed at helping ensure more
effective gender mainstreaming, thus helping to bring about equality between women and men in
the workplace.
Contact: ILO Subregional Office, PO Box 210, Harare, Zimbabwe, tel. +263 4 369805/06 up to
12, fax +263 4 369813/4, harare@ilo.org, www.ilo.org/mdtharare

Online Course Diplomas Awarded in South Africa
Nineteen women and men were awarded diplomas on 16 May at the ILO Office in Pretoria for
successfully completing a distance learning programme on Capacity Building for Employment
Promotion, Gender Equality and Poverty Reduction. The programme, based on the contents of
the Gender, Poverty and Employment (GPE) online course developed by the International
Training Centre of the ILO based in Turin, Italy, was adapted for the regional context. The 11
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women and eight men who received diplomas included representatives of government agencies,
business, workers’ organizations, academia, and women’s groups.
“I am pleased to finally meet with the pioneers of this first distance learning programme adapted
to the Southern African context”, said Mr. Kenneth Andoh, Director of the ILO Office. “This
programme is a demonstration of the ILO commitment to equip our partners in South Africa with
the necessary knowledge and skills that will enable them to translate the cross-cutting objective
of promoting gender equality into appropriate policies and programmes”.
The GPE online course contains modules on issues related to integrating gender into all aspects
of poverty and employment planning and interventions. It can also be extended and adapted for
awareness raising and capacity building activities at international, regional or national levels. The
course is available in English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Portuguese.
The programme adapted for Southern Africa was previously tested by representatives of
government and workers’ and employers’ organizations. A team of trainers and facilitators,
including representatives of the South Africa Commission on Gender Equality, were then
identified. Trainers communicated with participants in the course, through email, fax and
telephone as they completed modules of the programme that were accessible via Internet.
Contact: ILO Office, PO Box 11694, Hatfield 0028, Pretoria, South Africa, tel. +2712 431 88 01,
fax +2712 431 88 59, pretoria@ilo.org
Gender Coordination Unit, International Training Centre of the ILO, 10 Viale Maestri del
Lavoro, 10127 Turin, Italy, gender@itcilo.it, www.itcilo.it/gender, more info about GPE at
www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/skills/informal/gpe
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Workshop in Iran for Women Union Leaders
Around 50 participants in the Strategic Planning Workshop with Women Union Leaders, held in
Tehran on 24-25 May, discussed women’s precarious employment status in Iran, and low
remuneration and wage gaps of health care workers, especially nurses. The workshop was held at
the initiative of the Workers’ House, in collaboration with the ILO Subregional Office based in
New Delhi and under the Gender Equality Partnership Fund coordinated by the ILO Bureau for
Gender Equality.
“The aim of this workshop”, said Mr. Herman van der Laan, Director of the ILO Subregional
Office in New Delhi, “is to bring together women union leaders in the country in order to discuss
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gender issues in the workplace. Addressing the gender gap in trade union representation, as well
as women’s share of leadership posts in the organizations, are crucial to mainstreaming gender
and empowering women. These two goals are also the two-pronged approach used by the ILO to
promote equality between women and men. We also want to encourage social dialogue in order
to help build sound industrial relations—all these will contribute to bringing economic
prosperity”.
The workshop allowed for a frank exchange of opinions among women union leaders in Iran
about gender relations in the country as well as women-specific issues, noted Mr. Pong-Sul Ahn,
Senior Specialist on Workers' Activities at the ILO New Delhi Office. Moving forward as a result
of the discussions will require further debate among workers, he said, and development of
policies by the government and practical actions by trade unions to promote women's
empowerment and gender equality.
Challenges identified by working groups during the workshop included difficult working
conditions and long working hours, as well as lack of facilities for women workers; unequal pay
for equal job qualification; lack of implementation of labour laws regarding trade unions; lack of
qualified women’s access to decision making positions in trade unions; the need to increase
access of women, especially highly-qualified young women, to education and on-the-job training,
as well as help build women workers’ self confidence; and enabling women to participate in the
entire process of formulating laws, which participants said currently reinforce the power of men
in all areas of society and the economy.
Participants called for, among other things, increased collaboration with civil society groups
promoting the empowerment of women, unity among working women, cooperation with gendersensitive men who support gender equality, and more participation of women in trade unions.
International solidarity, training programmes, information networks, and technical cooperation
with organizations promoting gender equality such as the ILO were also identified.
“The women participating in this workshop”, said Jyoti Tuladhar, ILO Senior Gender Specialist
based in New Delhi, “were highly motivated. Their knowledge and awareness of labour issues
was impressive, as was their interest in promoting employment for women”.
Contact: ILO Subregional Office for South Asia, Theatre Court, Third Floor, India Habitat
Centre, Lodi Road, New Delhi 110 003, India, tel. +91 11 24 60 21 01, fax +91 11 24 64 79 73,
delhi@ilo.org

Extension of Social Protection in the Philippines
At a workshop in Manila from 19-21 March, entitled A Gendered Approach for the Extension of
Social Protection in the Philippines, participants identified strategies to more effectively extend
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15
social protection benefits to workers in the informal economy.
The event was organized by the ILO Subregional Office based in Manila, the Global Programme
on Strategies and Tools Against Social Exclusion and Poverty (STEP) of the Geneva-based ILO
Social Security Policy and Development Branch, and International Training Centre of the ILO
based in Turin, Italy, with support from the ILO InFocus Programme on Boosting Employment
through Small Enterprise Development (IFP/SEED).
Discussions focused on the needs and development opportunities of both women and men in
order to better inform and target such strategies. Participants included representatives of local and
national government agencies; trade unions; employers’ organizations; community-based groups
including NGOs, indigenous groups and cooperatives; small and medium enterprises; microfinance institutions; and health micro-insurance schemes.
An overwhelming percentage of workers in the informal economy in the Philippines are women,
according to the ILO Manila Office. Very few of them have access to social protection schemes,
and reasons for their lack of protection include prevailing national societal conditions affecting
the status of women, the fact that much of their work is unpaid, and social protection systems
traditionally have been designed for male breadwinners. The risks associated with maternity and
child-care make those women living in an environment of health care deprivation particularly
vulnerable.
The limited extent of social protection coverage in the Philippines as identified in the ILO Decent
Work Action Programme was noted by Mr. Werner Konrad Blenk, Director of the ILO Office in
Manila. He recognized the efforts of national agencies and many civil society groups,
cooperatives, community-based organizations and some trade unions in finding innovative ways
of facilitating access to better social protection services.
He also highlighted the ILO’s campaign on Social Security and Coverage for All, which
promotes the extension of social security to all non-covered men and women and securing
universal access to health care and basic income security for all.
During the workshop participants discussed the fact that trade liberalization has had different
effects on different sectors of the economy including the informal economy, on different
industries, and on the workers within these. The definition of self-employed, casual, contracted,
and part-time work as “atypical” was outdated, said speakers, since it was now typical for
increasing numbers of people.
In the Philippines, there are approximately 19 million women and men in the informal economy,
representing more than 50% of the total employment population.
The informal economy contributes at least 44% percent of the country’s Gross National Product
(GNP), according to estimates. The needs of workers in the informal economy such as social
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protection were slowly being recognized, said some speakers. The majority of workers in the
informal economy weren’t benefiting from formal employment-based social security schemes,
although appropriate legislation and programmes were being developed to help ensure that these
benefits are also available to them.
Many civil society groups, people’s organizations and some trade unions that cater to workers in
the informal economy were making efforts to find ways to facilitate their members’ access to
social protection services, noted some speakers. Micro-insurance schemes, especially in health,
were cited as examples by which these organizations extend social protection to members.
During the workshop, participants discussed strategies to extend social protection for workers,
especially women in the informal economy. Using concepts of social protection based on ILO
experiences, they talked about gaps in the extension of social protection by national agencies as
well as community-based micro insurance schemes.
Participants noted limited coverage in terms of number of workers in the informal as well as
formal economy, and identified the gap in terms of benefits for preventive health, maternity and
reproductive health care.
Good practices and initiatives presented during the event included those aimed at providing social
protection through health insurance. However, participants stressed the need for better coverage
in terms of benefits, especially maternity care and in terms of population insured. They also
explored the roles of their particular sectors and how these different sectors could interact to
extend social protection—especially in health care for universal coverage—thereby lessening the
percentage of excluded women and men.
Contact: ILO Subregional Office For South East-Asia and the Pacific, PO Box 4959, Makati
Central PO, 1289 Makati City, Philippines, tel. +63 2 819 3614, fax +63 2 812 6143,
seapat@ilo.org
Global Programme on Strategies and Tools Against Social Exclusion and Poverty (STEP), Social
Security Policy and Development Branch, ILO, 4 route des Morillons, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland,
tel. +41 22 799 6544, fax +41 22 799 6644, step@ilo.org, www.ilo.org/step
Social Protection Programme, International Training Centre of the ILO, 10 Viale Maestri del
Lavoro, 10127 Turin, Italy, tel. +39 011 6936 545, fax +39 011 6936 548, socpro@itcilo.it,
www.itcilo.it
InFocus Programme on Boosting Employment through Small Enterprise Development
(IFP/SEED), ILO, 4 route des Morillons, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland, tel. +41 22 799 6862, fax
+41 22 799 7978, ifp-seed@ilo.org, www.ilo.org/seed
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 Collective Bargaining and Gender Issues in Trade Unions
Fifteen women and nine men attended the National Workshop on Collective Bargaining and
Gender Issues in Trade Unions, held in Nagpur, India on 5-7 June. The workshop was held by the
ILO Subregional Office for South Asia, based in New Delhi, in cooperation with five major
national trade unions in the country.
The event aimed to raise awareness among women and men trade union leaders about gender
issues; encourage national union centres to include gender issues on collective bargaining
agendas; and promote genuine participation of women in activities and decision-making of trade
unions at all levels.
Two working groups focused on ways to protect women workers’ rights in the workplace,
through legal procedures, and through trade unions; and ways to incorporate gender issues in
collective agreements, strategies to address these issues, and possible outcomes.
Participants stressed the importance of understanding, close collaboration and partnership
between women and men in promoting and achieving gender equality in the world of work. They
agreed on recommendations aimed at state and national government, employers and trade unions.
While recognizing that union membership helps empower women, they said the right to unionize
should be ensured as a fundamental right in all workplaces including those in export-promotion
zones (EPZs) and special economic promotion zones (SEPZs).
Participants called on trade unions and federations to, among other things, establish subcommittees aimed at protecting and promoting gender equality in the workplace, as well as in
union activities.
Recommendations to employers included urging them to abide by the specific provisions of
legislation, rules and regulations aimed at gender equalilty.
Contact: ILO Subregional Office for South Asia, Theatre Court, Third Floor, India Habitat
Centre, Lodi Road, New Delhi 110 003, India, tel. +91 11 24 60 21 01, fax +91 11 24 64 79 73,
delhi@ilo.org
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LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

Gender, Poverty and Employment in Latin America
Gender perspectives need to be integrated in a much more efficient, systematic and technicallyqualified way into policies aimed at reducing poverty and generating employment in Latin
America. In the region, an increasing number of ILO constituents—governments, and workers’
and employers’ organizations—have shown willingness to begin or build on such a process
including an interest among business organizations to learn more.
However, there is a need to enhance knowledge and skills in mainstreaming gender into poverty
and employment initiatives in order to effect change in policy making.
These are some of the initial results of a process of discussions and experiences since an ILO
technical cooperation project was launched in 2002. The project—entitled Incorporation of the
Gender Dimension into Public Policies and Programmes for Poverty Eradication and
Employment Generation (GPE)—covers six countries in the region: Argentina, Bolivia,
Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru.
It aims is to raise awareness and participation of constituents—and particularly technical capacity
of public policymakers and programme managers—in developing analyses of the gender
dimensions in policies for poverty reduction and employment generation. This includes
identification of subjects for studies aimed at contributing new methodological approaches and
analysis of factors that affect poverty, employment, and relations between women and men.
At a workshop held in Buenos Aires on 10-20 March, around 50 participants discussed
mainstreaming gender dimensions into their respective organizations’ policies and programmes
related to poverty and employment. The workshop was organized by the project in collaboration
with the International Training Centre of the ILO which is based in Turin, Italy, and with support
from the ILO Office in Buenos Aires.
“One of the outcomes of the workshop”, said Ms. Silvia Berger, Chief Technical Advisor of the
project, “was the enriching exchange among participants of both knowledge and experience
related to the issues of gender, poverty and employment. Participants were also motivated and
willing to consider new ways of taking action. This contributed to a process of consolidation and
formulation of action plans for the incorporation of gender perspectives into policies for
employment and poverty eradication in each of the Latin American countries involved in the
project.”
As part of the project, some 40 trade union representatives met from 21-23 April in Buenos Aires
for a Sensitization Workshop for Strengthening the Gender Dimension in the Workers’ Agenda.
Participants at the event, co-organized by the ILO Office in Buenos Aires, were from
organizations represented on the Tripartite Commission on Equality of Treatment and
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Opportunities between Men and Women in the World of Work.
The tripartite commission is based in the Argentine Ministry for Labour, Employment and Social
Security. The workshop will be followed by a similar event later this year with participants from
employers’ organizations that are represented on the tripartite commission.
Contact: ILO Regional Office for the Americas, PO Box 14-124, San Isidro, Lima 14, Peru, tel.
+51 1 215 0300, fax +51 1 421 5286, oit@oit.org.pe, workshop materials and report available in
Spanish at www.oit.org.pe/gpe/
ILO Office, Av. Cordoba 950, Pisos 13 y 14, 1054 Buenos Aires, Argentina, tel. +54 11 4393
7076, fax +54 11 4393 7062, buenosaires@oit.org.ar, www.ilo.org/buenosaires
Gender Coordination Unit, International Training Centre of the ILO, 10 Viale Maestri del
Lavoro, 10127 Turin, Italy, gender@itcilo.it, www.itcilo.it/gender, more info about the GPE
www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/skills/informal/gpe

Workshop in Peru on Gender and Child Labour
Building capacity in using gender planning tools was the aim of a workshop held on 26-28 March
in Lima, Peru with staff of the ILO International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour
(IPEC). The workshop was organized by IPEC and the ILO Subregional Office for the Andean
Countries as part of a larger effort funded by the Department for International Development
(DfID) of the United Kingdom for integrating gender perspectives in IPEC activities.
Recommendations adopted during the workshop stressed the importance of introducing gender
perspectives in different components of the national policies for the eradication of child labour in
South American countries including in statistics and information by using sex-disaggregated data,
analysis of legal frameworks incorporating gender issues, awareness raising about the importance
of a gender mainstreaming approach, and the importance of capacity building and direct
interventions that are gender sensitive.
Participants also set priorities to follow up and monitor the integration of gender perspectives in
ongoing regional strategic planning for ILO activities and support to related constituents’
programmes to combat child labour in South America, as well as country-based plans of action
being developed by IPEC and partners for the period 2003-2005.
Contact: ILO Subregional Office for the Andean Countries, Las Flores 295, San Isidoro, Lima,
Peru, telephone +51 1 221 2565, fax +51 1 421 5292, e-mail
etm@oit.org.pe, www.oit.org/peru
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International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), ILO, 4 route des
Morillons, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland, tel. +41 22 799 6346, fax +41 22 799 8771, ipec@ilo.org,
www.ilo.org/ipec

Study Groups for Equal Opportunities at Work and Unions
A study group on integrating gender as a cross-cutting issue for policies in participating trade
unions has been meeting since the beginning of the year in Lima, Peru. The study group is part of
the Programme of Study Groups for Equal Opportunities at Work and Unions, which was
launched in January by the ILO Subregional Office for Andean Countries. The programme has
been coordinated with the Centrales Sindicales del Perú (Peruvian Confederation of Unions).
The study group has about 225 participating trade union representatives. Fifteen trainers have
each held about 15 study group sessions including seven on gender and equal opportunities, with
support from the ILO Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV).
During a second round of meetings the study groups are focusing on eradication of domestic
child labour. The round was held with support from the ILO Child Domestic Labour Prevention
and Elimination Project in South America. Workshops—one on equal opportunities and another
for women on computer use—were held in Lima in June to complement the study group
discussions.
The study groups programme, which concludes in August, also will include discussion on
reproductive rights, supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and on gender,
poverty and employment, supported by the Regional Technical Cooperation Project on Gender,
Poverty and Employment. The initiative culminates with a workshop aimed at establishing
gender mainstreaming groups within the Centrales Sindicales del Perú.
Contact: ILO Subregional Office for the Andean Countries, Las Flores 295, San Isidoro, Lima,
Peru, telephone +51 1 221 2565, fax +51 1 421 5292, etm@oit.org.pe, www.oitandina.org.pe
RESOURCES

Technical Cooperation, Gender and Social Dialogue
This guide, developed by the InFocus Programme on Social Dialogue, Labour Law and Labour
Administration (IFP/DIALOGUE) in cooperation with the Bureau for Gender Equality, is
designed to serve as a tool for ILO project managers, social dialogue specialists, consultants and
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other interested readers.
The Guide to Mainstreaming Gender into Technical Cooperation Projects on Social Dialogue
provides practical suggestions on how to include the needs of both women and men in the design,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation of technical cooperation projects in general, and
particularly social dialogue-related projects. Examples of specific actions are provided
throughout, in addition to definitions of key concepts and processes.
“Mainstreaming gender in technical cooperation projects means making equality measures an
integral part of our technical cooperation work”, said Ms. Patricia O’Donovan, Director of
IFP/DIALOGUE. “Specific actions taken by ILO staff when designing and implementing the
projects can contribute to changing gender relations. This easy-to-use, practical guide was
designed to enable ILO staff and our partners in activities promoting social dialogue to have a
positive influence on gender equality in a practical and measurable way”.
Each stage of a project, says the guide, should ensure that gender equality considerations are
included. Clear indicators of progress achieved in addressing gender issues and promoting gender
equality should be used, while equality targets and concrete ways to reach them should be
identified and assessed.
Monitoring and evaluation should pay attention to gender, and gender equality should be
included in all technical cooperation projects rather than as an “add on” or marginalized activity.
The guide provides some sample indicators to demonstrate that a project has effectively
mainstreamed gender. These include, for example, the proportion of male and female staff
working in a project and external collaborators; use of data disaggregated by sex; use of
gender-sensitive language in all documents produced; and the number of gender-specific
activities organized and proportion of male and female participants.
Building partnerships, collecting and using information, organizing meetings and training
activities, and gender equality and social dialogue are other issues addressed in the guide. It also
includes information on international labour standards related to women workers and to social
dialogue, and additional sources of information and tools.
The guide is available in English, French and Spanish.
Contact: InFocus Programme on Social Dialogue, Labour Law and Labour Administration
(IFP/DIALOGUE), ILO, 4 route des Morillons, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland, tel. +41 22 799 6374,
fax +41 22 799 8749, ifpdialogue@ilo.org, www.ilo.org/ifpdialogue
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
Promoting Gender Equality in Action Against Child Labour
and Trafficking
This publication provides an overview of strategies and tools to reach both girls and boys when
combating harmful child labour practices and trafficking. It addresses the specific constraints of
girls and young women prone to—or engaged in child labour. It also highlights ways to
strengthen the role of both parents in educating their children and protecting them from labour
exploitation.
The guide is intended for staff of governmental and non-governmental organizations involved in
combating child labour and trafficking. It can also be used by policy makers engaged in
promoting human rights of girls and boys, and women, as well as fundamental principles and
rights at work.
The first part provides basic definitions and strategies for the promotion of gender equality in
policies and programmes against child labour and trafficking, along with conceptual tools for
addressing gender inequalities in relevant policies and programmes.
Part two contains practical tools in the form of checklists. One such list of definitions,
conceptual tools and strategies can be used in awareness-raising activities, training, or as a quick
reference.
Another list can be used by staff and partner organizations of the ILO International Programme
on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) to systematically integrate gender issues in the design
of IPEC action programmes.
A third list can be used for integrating the promotion of gender equality in programming, as well
as for reviewing the capacity of organizations to address inequality concerns in action against
child labour and trafficking.
The guide was developed under a pilot project implemented by the ILO Subregional Office for
East Asia and IPEC. It is part of a series of capacity building initiatives by IPEC to systematically
address gender inequality in action against the worst forms of child labour.
Contact: Project Coordinator, Promoting Gender Equality in Action against Child Labour in
East Asia, ILO Subregional Office for East Asia, 10th Floor, United Nations Building,
Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, Bangkok 10200 Thailand, tel. +662 288 1767, fax +622 288 3060 or
3058, busakorn@ilobkk.or.th, www.ilo.org/bangkok

HIV/AIDS and Child Labourers in South Africa
This case study of the KwaZulu-Natal area of South Africa examines the link between the
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23
HIV/AIDS pandemic and child labour. Compared with other provinces in South Africa—one of
the countries hardest hit by the disease—the KwaZulu Natal area consistently has the highest
levels of HIV infection.
The number of orphans there is also growing, which suggests that the number of vulnerable girls
and boys is increasing. Gender roles in childhood—and reinforced through every stage of human
development—have important implications for vulnerability to transmission of the disease for
child labourers, notes the study, and hence policy implications and strategies.
“This study clearly shows a link between the HIV/AIDS epidemic and child labour”, said Ms.
Alice Ouedraogo, Director for Policy Development and Advocacy at the ILO International
Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC). “It also explores the family, community,
gender and socio-economic implications of this relationship. In the province of KwaZuluNatal—as in other societies around the world—early socialization of boys and girls establishes
and reinforces patriarchal gender roles”.
In KwaZulu Natal, notes the study whose results are also being disseminated by the ILO Office
based in Pretoria, gender roles encourage boys to develop leadership and family-provider
responsibilities. Girls are steered toward nurturing and supportive roles, and in preparation for
marriage they are generally encouraged to be docile and compliant members of families.
When one or both parents die of AIDS, girls usually drop out of school first to take care of the
rest of the family. Boys—who are the majority of paid domestic workers in the region—are
vulnerable in other ways since only a small number are able to stay in school.
Among its recommendations, the report says the South Africa government should raise the
ceiling of seven years of age for child support grants to 15 years. More orphanages should be
established and more caregivers trained in order to cope with the ever-increasing number of
AIDS orphans.
Child-friendly programmes aiming to protect girls and boys from the devastating effects of the
HIV/AIDS pandemic—and that move toward the eradication of child labour—must address
gender roles and integrate the goal of equality between girls and boys, and women and men, as an
integral part of these programmes’ objectives.
Initiatives to fight the pandemic which are based on the ILO Programme on HIV/AIDS and the
World of Work (ILO/AIDS) Code of Practice should be established in the workplace. HIV/AIDS
interventions should focus on mitigation for infected and affected girls and boys, with special
emphasis on the girl-child.
A nationwide campaign is needed to inform poor parents and school authorities about legal rights
for keeping girls and boys in school, even if they cannot pay the fees. And, says the study, the
government should develop a clear policy specifically designed to combat child labour. IPEC is
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working with the South African government and other partners to address issues raised in the
study and to identify sustainable responses to its recommendations. This is expected to culminate
in a time-bound programme for South Africa, including activities in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia
and Swaziland.
Recommendations of the study were discussed at a workshop held in May by IPEC in Lusaka,
Zambia with representatives of governments, and workers and employers’ organizations (see
article in Africa section).
Contact: International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), ILO, 4 route des
Morillons, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland, tel. +41 22 799 6346, fax +41 22 799 8771, ipec@ilo.org
or amorim@ilo.org, www.ilo.org/ipec, study at
www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/publ/hiv/index.htm
ILO Office, PO Box 11694, Hatfield 0028, Pretoria, South Africa, tel. +2712 431 88 00, fax
+2712 431 88 59, pretoria@ilo.org
ILO Programme on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work (ILO/AIDS), 4 route des Morillons, 1211
Geneva, Switzerland, tel. +41 22 799 6486, fax +41 22 799 6349, iloaids@ilo.org,
www.ilo.org/aids

HIV/AIDS and Child Labour in Tanzania
The HIV/AIDS pandemic adds a new and tragic dimension to the worst forms of child labour,
says HIV/AIDS and Child Labour in the United Republic of Tanzania: A Rapid Assessment. The
publication, which describes a case study of Dar es Salaam and Arusha, addresses the especiallyharsh burden of the disease on the shoulders of the girl-child.
In the study qualitative assessment techniques were used such as focus group discussions, and
semi-structured and key informant interviews.
Millions of children have been orphaned on the continent as a result of HIV/AIDS, and millions
more will be, warns the study. Many orphans in Africa, including in Tanzania, find security in the
households of relatives. However this “social net” is slowly unraveling as extended family
structures disintegrate due to, among other things, increased poverty.
The demands of survival force many children, especially girls, to drop out of school and look for
work in order to run households and care for siblings. They often have to provide these services
to their families even before the AIDS-related death of one or both parents.
This, says the study, is one of the main reasons girls are more vulnerable than boys to hazardous
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child labour and to HIV infection.
Boy respondents in the study formed the majority of children working in quarries or engaged in
other forms of self-employment whose working environments tend to be dangerous. However
girls face a greater risk due to the nature of work in which they were concentrated, which is
mostly domestic work and commercial sex. In these contexts, says the study, they are often
exposed to forced sex by employers or commercial sex—and in some cases to HIV infection.
After describing the methodology, conceptual framework and a literature review, the study
presents respondent profiles and describes findings including educational as well as household
socio-economic status of the children. Working conditions of girls and boy in child labour are
discussed, as well as their awareness about HIV/AIDS.
A range of initiatives to combat child labour and HIV/AIDS in the country include broad national
policies and strategic frameworks regarding HIV/AIDS and child labour, as well as interventions
by committed civil society groups and individuals. National responses, observes the study, are
strongest at local levels while effective national policy and programme guidance “is only
beginning to emerge”.
Recommendations concern a range of intervention strategies. Overcrowded orphanages should be
improved, and the number of orphanages increased. Access to education and skills training
should be available to as many orphaned girls and boys as possible. And action-oriented social
and economic programmes are needed to mobilize communities in working against the spread of
HIV/AIDS and to cope with those already infected or affected—such as HIV/AIDS orphans.
The study, which is being disseminated by the ILO Office in Dar es Salaam in an upcoming
national workshop, was jointly published by the ILO International Programme on the Elimination
of Child Labour (IPEC), Institute of Development Studies of the University of Dar es Salaam,
and the community-based organization Kiota for Women’s Health and Development
(KIWOHEDE).
Contact: International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), ILO, 4 route des
Morillons, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland, tel. +41 22 799 6346, fax +41 22 799 8771, ipec@ilo.org
or amorim@ilo.org, www.ilo.org/ipec, report at
www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/publ/hiv/index.htm
ILO Office, PO Box 9212, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, tel. +255 22 212 68 21/24/26, fax +255 22
212 66 27, daressalaam@ilo.org
Institute of Development Studies, University of Dar es Salaam, PO Box 35169, Dar es Salaam,
+255 22 241 0500–8, extension 2601/2600
Kiota for Women’s Health and Development (KIWOHEDE), PO Box 1269, Dar es Salaam,
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Tanzania, tel. +255 22 286 1111, katri@africaonline.co.tz

Information Guide on Preventing Discrimination,
Exploitation and Abuse of Migrant Women Workers
This guide—part of the ILO Employment Sector Gender Promotion Programme’s (GENPROM)
series on Gender and Migration—aims to enhance knowledge and contribute to the development
of tools for protecting and promoting the rights of female migrant workers. It was produced in
collaboration with the ILO International Migration Programme (MIGRANT) and the Special
Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour.
The guide seeks to build understanding of the vulnerability of women migrant workers to
discrimination, exploitation and abuse through all stages of the international migration process,
including being trafficked. It aims to promote and improve legislation, policies and actions to
prevent such discrimination, exploitation and abuse, and to better protect women migrant workers
who are vulnerable. The guide also explains the reasons and ways for addressing these issues.
Audiences to whom the guide is targeted include advocates, activists, policy makers and
implementers who are concerned with migration issues and women workers’ rights in origin,
transit and destination countries. It can be used by workers’ and employers’ organizations,
associations of migrant workers including those of domestic workers, public and private
recruitment and employment agencies, and civil society groups concerned with human rights.
Individual migrants—both women and men—can also refer to the guide to better understand the
risks involved in labour migration, know their rights, and protect themselves.
In addition to background information, the guide provides practical guidelines and checklists,
case studies, examples of both “good” and “bad” practices, as well as reference materials. It can
be used for awareness raising, initiatives, advocacy, promotion, training and education. It
comprises six booklets, which are inter-related but can be used separately.
Booklet 1 provides an introduction to the dynamics of female labour migration and highlights the
specific vulnerabilities of women migrant workers.
Booklets 2 through 5 cover different stages of the migration process that women migrant workers
go through and the corresponding activities, policies and practices of other actors. These
activities and policies—including of the government, business sector, civil society groups, and
migrants’ own families—affect the migrants’ mobility and employment.
Booklet 6 focuses on the trafficking of human beings, particularly women and girls. It defines
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trafficking—within a complex and shifting continuum of population mobility—as having a
component of coercion and often a “modern-day form of slavery”.
A subregional validation workshop on the guide was held on 15-16 July in Manila, Philippines by
GENPROM and the ILO Subregional Office for South-East Asia and the Pacific. Workshop
participants included experts and practitioners from sending and receiving countries: Hong Kong,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
Contact: Gender Promotion Programme (GENPROM), ILO, 4 route des Morillons, 1211
Geneva, Switzerland, tel. +41 22 799 6090, fax +41 22 799 7657, genprom@ilo.org,
www.ilo.org/genprom
International Migration Programme (MIGRANT), ILO, same address, tel. +41 22 799 6667, fax
+41 22 799 8836, migrant@ilo.org, www.ilo.org/migrant
Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour, ILO InFocus Programme on Promoting
the Declaration, same address, tel. +41 22 799 8337, fax +41 22 795 6561, declaration@ilo.org,
www.ilo.org/declaration

Identification of Economic Opportunities for Women’s Groups
and Communities
Experience has shown that simple identification of an economic opportunity or new business by a
woman or group of women does not always lead to the creation of a successful, incomegenerating economic activity.
Obstacles can include social and cultural barriers to women’s involvement in economic activities,
and their lack of access to all required resources such as credit, additional labour force including
family labour, services, as well as to markets.
This guide, published by the ILO Employment Sector Gender Promotion Programme
(GENPROM) as part of its series on Gender and Employment, was designed to address the
process of identifying economic opportunities for women’s groups and communities through an
empowerment and community-building approach.
Efforts to assist vulnerable groups of women workers to enter self employment, set up micro- and
small enterprises, or increase their earning potential can be sustainable and enable women to
break out of poverty if these are linked to—and supported by—a number of other measures.
The guide aims to help women’s groups and communities identify viable economic opportunities
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through a step-by-step approach. It also includes information on how to identify international
markets, and explains the impact of macro-economic policies on women’s economic activities in
developing countries.
Contact: Gender Promotion Programme (GENPROM), ILO, 4 route des Morillons, 1211
Geneva, Switzerland, tel. +41 22 799 6090, fax +41 22 799 7657, genprom@ilo.org,
www.ilo.org/genprom, guide at www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/gems/download/eoi.pdf

Legislación comparada sobre Trabajo Adolescente Doméstico: El caso
de Brasil, Paraguay, Colombia y Perú
This comparative publication on child domestic labour is based on case studies of legislation
related to the practice in Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay and Peru. The study, produced by the ILO
Child Domestic Labour Prevention and Elimination Project in South America, uses gender as one
of its fundamental aspects of analysis. In the countries in which case studies were carried out,
child domestic labour is mainly performed by girls and female teenagers.
The aim of the study is to identify issues that were not in compliance with the eight fundamental
ILO Conventions, especially two on the elimination of child labour, and to propose amendments
to them.
The conventions have been identified by the ILO Governing Body as fundamental to the rights of
human beings at work, irrespective of the level of development of individual member States. The
eight conventions concern freedom of association, abolition of forced labour and equality, and
elimination of child labour—of which the two relevant conventions are the 1973 Minimum Age
Convention (Number 138) and the 1999 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (Number
182).
The study concludes that national legislation and regulations are not adequate and enforcement
systems are not functioning properly. Child domestic labour is treated in the same way as
domestic labour performed by adults, which is also not adequately addressed by legislation.
Contact: ILO Regional Office for the Americas, PO Box 14-124, San Isidro, Lima 14, Peru, tel.
+51 1 215 0300, fax +51 1 421 5286, oit@oit.org.pe, report in Spanish at
www.oit.org.pe/ipec/tid/docs/est_leg_comparado.pdf
This newsletter is not an official document of the ILO. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of
the ILO. The designations employed do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the ILO
concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its
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frontiers.
Gender Equality in the World of Work
ILO Electronic Newsletter, Issue No. 5, April-July 2003