1ST Semester, A.Y.
2022 – 2023
CE 112 – Civil Engineering Orientation
GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT:
Emphasis on the Issues of Women in the Current Work Setting
GENDER EQUALITY
• Gender equality refers to equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities that all persons should enjoy,
regardless of whether one is born male or female.
• Given that women are usually in a disadvantaged position in the workplace compared to men, promotion
of gender equality implies explicit attention to women’s needs and perspectives.
• At the same time, there are also significant negative effects of unequal power relations and expectations
on men and boys due to stereotyping about what it means to be a male.
• Often based on traditional gender perspectives that assume men to be the primary income earner and
women to be the main caretaker in a household
• The institutions and policies do not give sufficient consideration to the specific needs of women in the
world of work.
PURSUING GENDER EQUALITY
• The rights-based arguments in which international human rights standards obligate States to uphold and
promote equality as a matter of fundamental human rights and justice
• The economic arguments, which focus on economic efficiency, innovation and other advantages that
derive from equality in economies and at the enterprise level.
ELEMENTS OF EQUALITY IN A WORK SETTING
1. Equality of opportunity and treatment in employment
2. Equal remuneration for work of equal value
3. Equal access to safe and healthy working environments and to social security
4. Equality in association and collective bargaining
5. Equality in obtaining meaningful career development
6. A balance between work and home life that is fair to both women and men 7. Equal participation in
decision-making at all levels
My PRMSU, My University!
Global education to local communities.
MAJOR OBSTACLE TO EQUALITY IN LABOUR MARKETS IN ASIAPACIFIC REGION
• Social norms and practices, such as early marriage and responsibilities to care for younger siblings or
other family members, limit girls’ and women’s access to education and skills training.
A. Discrimination
• Women in the region face persistent and deeply rooted discrimination that prevents them from enjoying
the same rights and opportunities as men and, in turn, affects their labour market outcomes.
• Discrimination may be direct, such as legislation that establishes different retirement ages for men and
women or legal differences in property rights that are based on gender.
• Statutory retirement age for men and women, example: China, Venezuela, Vietnam (men: 60, women:
50-
55) Iran (men:65, women:55) Slovak Republic (men:62, women:55)
• It can be indirect: hidden in social norms and practices that undervalue women and girls in the
household or the labor force.
• Discrimination may even begin before birth in the form of son preference, with girls in some
countries in the region not even getting the chance to be born.
• From the earliest stages, and when compared with boys, girls are most likely to receive less
investment in their health and education.
• As adults, women have fewer job opportunities, less career advancement, less access to resources,
lower income and fewer or no employment or social protection benefits.
• Occupational segregation, both horizontal (across and within sectors) and vertical (limited chances
for progression in a job) are endemic in the region.
• Age is another factor impeding women’s opportunities. At both ends of the age spectrum, young
women and older women are likely to experience employment discrimination. Women of childbearing age
are not immune either, with some employers reluctant to hire them because they perceive a lack of
attachment to the labour market or because they do not want to cover maternity responsibilities.
B. Unpaid Care Work
• Care work is a sub -category of work that includes all tasks that directly involve care processes
done in service of others
• Care responsibilities are one of the largest constraints to decent work for women in the formal
economy in Asia and the Pacific.
• It hinders women’s ability to work full time or seek promotion opportunities. It contributes to
gender pay gaps and occupational and sectoral segregation.
• Care work in general is undervalued because it involves tasks that women have traditionally
performed without pay and because the skills required for care work are often considered to be innate to
women.
C. Gender Pay Gap
• Gender pay gaps exist within occupations, where men are paid more than women in the same job, and
between occupations and sectors, where similar types of work and the skills needed are given less value
in female-dominated jobs.
• Regional trends on Asia-Pacific suggest that the gap in disposable incomes will likely increase, from
33.6 per cent in 2013 to 37.7 per cent by 2030, according to Euromonitor International (2014).
• Gender pay gaps arise for a variety of reasons. Social norms and attitudes have great bearing, whether it
is the undervaluing of women’s work, the extent of women’s unpaid care responsibilities or in the
perception of women as only secondary income earners.
• Another factor is the concentration of women in a narrow range of sectors and employment, which are
invariably lower paid than sectors in which men concentrate, or the predominance of women in informal
and vulnerable work.
• Example of industry: Hairdressing, Hairstyling, cosmetology, Preschool Teacher, childcare workers
D. Gender-based Violence and Harassment at Work
• Despite improved legal frameworks and many enterprise level initiatives aiming to prevent and
redress violence and harassment, it remains prevalent and it affects girls and women disproportionately.
• Violence and harassment are a threat to the dignity, security, health and well-being of everyone.
The spectrum of violence in the world of work encompasses physical as well as psychological and sexual
violence.
