Elusive equality
Gihan Shahine sifts through the first ILO global report on equity in the workplace
Throughout the world, non-agricultural occupations are seven times as likely to be male-dominated than female-dominated. Alongside sheer employment numbers, women also face much lower remuneration than men. In Japan and the United States, almost 70 per cent of all part-time workers were women in the year 2000 -- a trend that appears to be increasingly involuntary.
But women aren't the only ones facing a rough time in the workplace. People with disabilities, currently put at some seven to ten per cent of the world's population, suffer an unemployment rate of 80 per cent or higher in developing countries. The remaining 20 per cent are, in large part, trapped in low-paid unskilled jobs with little or no social protection. The work-income hierarchy in Brazil puts non-white women at the bottom, while white women, non-white men and white men are at the top -- irrespective of individual abilities, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
Discrimination at work is a worldwide phenomenon that has stumped experts everywhere. And yet, if equality at work is achieved, the workplace could be a strategic entry point to eliminate stereotypes and racial segregation in society. For that reason, the ILO chose the elimination of discrimination in employment as the topic of its global report for this year. The report, launched last week, is the fourth within the framework of the follow-up to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Entitled "Time for equality at work", the document digs deep into the different forms of discrimination at work and suggests policies to combat them.
Discrimination, according to ILO convention No.111, is "any distinction, exclusion or preference made on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin [among other characteristics], which has the effect of nullifying or impairing equality of opportunity and treatment in employment or occupation".
"Every day, around the world, discrimination at work is an unfortunate reality for hundreds of millions of people," said Juan Somavia, ILO director-general. "This new report, aptly entitled 'Time for equality at work' shows decisively that unless we take action, that time [for equality] is still a long way off."
While the most blatant forms of discrimination at work may have disappeared, many others persist, and new, perhaps more subtle, forms have emerged, the report says. Global changes, such as increased migration and growing economic problems have given rise to problems of xenophobia, racial and religious discrimination. More recently, new forms of discrimination based on disability, HIV/AIDS, age or sexual orientation have become cause for growing concern.
The report warns that discrimination at work has ramifications that extend to society as a whole. Discrimination creates a web of poverty, forced child labour and social exclusion, the report says. Inequality stifles the development of individual skills and creativity, which, in turn, impede productivity, competitiveness, and hence growth. It often traps people in low-paid, informal economy jobs, where they are denied benefits, social protection, training, capital, land or credit. A sense of frustration, powerlessness and humiliation takes hold when discriminated groups feel largely marginalised and unable to pursue their career aspirations. That phenomenon, in turn, widens social gaps, thereby posing a direct threat to social solidarity and political stability, according to the report.
"Failure to deal with discrimination at work will mean greater difficulty in dealing with the challenges posed by increasing migration, unprecedented technological change, the social dimension of globalisation and the need to accommodate diversity, and seriously affect social peace and democracy," Somavia warned.
Which all makes, according to the report, the elimination of discrimination at work "the most challenging task of contemporary society".
"We have made progress," Somavia added. "Today, formal condemnation of discrimination is virtually universal and action to stop discrimination at work has been taken in many places. Still, discrimination remains a constantly evolving, moving target and we have a long way to go on the road to equality."
So far, progress in fighting discrimination at work has been uneven and patchy even for long recognised forms such as discrimination against women, the report says. Inequalities within discriminated groups are widening: a few rise to the top of the social ladder, thanks to affirmative action policies, but most remain among the low paid and socially excluded.
Women are by far the largest group discriminated against. Although progress has been made at employment at the entry level, discrimination is particularly evident in the quality of jobs women hold and in their remuneration. The report finds that women largely remain unable to break the "glass ceiling", and are "segregated" in "peripheral, insecure, less valued positions" -- mostly social services which are related to their traditional gender roles.
Over time, women have been increasing their share in administrative and managerial work, but the nature of their career paths tends to block their progress to top positions, the report adds. They are rarely found in product development and corporate finance. Women's participation in decision-making proves to be one of the areas most resistant to changes towards increased gender equality.
Although export-led industrial development has opened up many occupations to women, inequalities remain in terms of pay, autonomy and promotion. The report also presents evidence that occupational segregation persists in new areas of work related to information and communication technologies. In the 1990s, women's share in these occupations declined in several countries, the largest decline occurring in Poland, while there was a small increase of 1.9 per cent in Hong Kong and China.
Similar discriminatory processes operate along the lines of race, ethnic origin, age, disability, and health status, among others, and result in the under-evaluation and segregation of groups of workers into jobs with less favourable terms and conditions of employment. Over the past decade, discrimination based on religion appears to have increased. The current global political climate has helped fuel sentiments of mutual fear and discrimination between religious groups, threatening to destabilise societies and generate violence, the report states. Meanwhile, older theories of the purported superiority of one racial or ethnic group over another have been replaced by allegations that foreign cultures may be incompatible with or have disruptive effects on the integrity of national identities.
The report concludes that while legislation is indispensable, on its own it has largely failed to eliminate discrimination. "Eliminating discrimination at work is everybody's responsibility," Somavia said. The state, Somavia explained, has the obligation of banning discriminatory practices, but employers' and workers' organisations should also identify and combat discriminatory practices in the workplace. Most importantly, the report adds, the voices of discriminated workers need to be heard, no matter where they work.
"There is no one-size-fits-all solution for achieving equality at work," Somavia concludes. The important thing, however, he said, is that "[We] must remain constantly alert to the problem, take appropriate action, and make sure that the time for equality comes sooner, rather than later."
