Promoting Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in the World of Work

The primary goal of the ILO is to promote opportunities for women and men to obtain decent work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. Gender equality is a key element in reaching this goal and is a cross-cutting policy driver for all ILO policy outcomes. ILO advances gender equality and women’s empowerment in the world of work in cooperation with various consitituents and other UN agencies.

Geographical Focus: 

Country: China and Mongolia

Project Objective:

The BASIC project supports the delivery of ILO technical assistance to its constituents in 7 countries in the delivery of ILO’s Policy Outcome 17 “Discrimination in Employment and occupation is eliminated” for the period 2014-15, which states “. . . ILO support will focus on interventions to enable constituents to:
  • Understand better and apply the principle of equal remuneration for women and men for “work of equal value”; 
  • Identify and tackle situations of direct, indirect and multiple discrimination;
  • Negotiate gender equality issues in industrial relations and collective bargaining; and
  • Facilitate women’s equitable access to remunerated jobs that lead to economic empowerment and equality in the labour market, especially in the informal economy, rural areas and export processing zones (EPZs), particularly for female migrant and domestic workers.” 
The ILO Country Office for China and Mongolia assists China and Mongolia in their respective application of the ILO Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111).

China:

The Chinese government has promoted the equality between men and women as a basic overriding national policy, and, along with the social partners, is implementing the ‘Development Programme for Chinese Women, 2011-2020’. In order to give effect to the policy a series of laws have been adopted or amended including the ‘Law on Protection of Women’s Rights and Interests’, and more specifically from an ILO perspective, the ‘Regulation on Labour Protection for Women Workers’.

The ILO has been assisting the government and social partners give effect to these commitments since 2010 with a particular focus on assisting in enhancing their understanding and knowledge of core international labour standards on gender equality, in particular:
  • Help better understanding and application of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value;
  • Identify and tackle situations of direct, indirect and multiple discrimination;
  • Negotiate gender equality issues in industrial relations and collective bargaining; and
  • Enhance women’s economic empowerment through women entrepreneurship development.
Mongolia:

The Law of Mongolia on Promotion of Gender Equality (LPGE) establishes the legal basis for promoting gender equality in all spheres, including the workplace. It is the first law in Mongolia that is accompanied by an independent strategy for its implementation, specifying the objectives, expected outcomes, activities, roles of lead institutions, as well as the responsibilities of each of the organizations involved. 

The National Committee on Gender (NCG), an independent body established by statute, is responsible for this oversight. The ILO will assist it in the world-of-work aspects of the LPGE;

Main activities

In collaboration with various partners, the project will conduct activities:

China:
  • MOHRSS research on “promoting gender equality in employment and employment services”;
  • MOHRSS women entrepreneurs training manual developed by adaption of the ILO’s GET Ahead Training Manual;
  • MOHRSS and ACWF joint entrepreneurship trainings for women in both rural and urban areas;
  • Advocacy events on gender equality and international labour standards by the ACFTU, the CEC and the ACWF;
  • ACFTU research and seminar on equal pay for work of equal value;
  • MOHRSS study on discriminatory job advertisement;
Mongolia:
  • Use of ILO’s Participatory Gender Audit methodology (PGA) to support development of gender strategy by national organization
    Partners:

Partners:

China:  The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), The China Enterprise Confederation (CEC), All-China Women’s Federation (ACWF)
Mongolia:  National Commission on Gender Equality, Ministry of Labour of Mongolia, Confederation of Mongolian Trade UnionsThe United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

Target Beneficiaries:

Policy-makers, workers and employers’ organizations, women’s federation, women and men;

For further information please contact:

Ms. Huang Qun 
National Programme Officer
ILO Country Office for China and Mongolia