Dawn Marie Lemonds blogs from Soroptimist International’s CSW 66 Side Event: ‘New Paradigm for Women: Dignity Through Decent Work’, 18 March.

“This side event focused on training and reforms that can make the world of work more fair, safe, and inclusive, allowing all workers to be valued for their contributions to society, and eliminating all kinds of violence and harassment in the work realm. Panelists agreed that the future of work will depend on decisions taken today by policymakers, employers, and workers. If these decisions are informed by the values of fairness, equity, and social justice, then we will certainly be building forward better.

This fascinating panel was moderated by Maria Fornella Oehninger, Soroptimist International UN Representative. Maureen Maguire, Soroptimist International President, opened by establishing the topic, followed by an inspiring welcome by H.E. Maria del Carmen Squeff, Permanent Representative of Argentina, who revealed important initiatives in her country related to a variety of work-related issues, particularly eliminating violence against women, and finding support for women carers who have no social security. Maria emphasised that “the right to live a life free of violence, and pursue your economic place is essential for all people and must be a pillar of national policies”.

Key points that established the framework of the presentations included:

• We are coming out of two years of upheaval due to the pandemic, which we will only be able to overcome through solidarity and justice,
• All humans want dignity, and crucial to this is dignity at work,
• Covid has affected women’s participation in the labor market,
• The world is facing rising inequality,
• This is a critical time and we must demand and ensure decent protections,
• Decent work is a cross-sectoral issue.

 

The panel members represented five organisations- each focused on the issue of the necessity of shifting the paradigm and taking action at all levels. Clearly, the speakers were knowledgeable of the work of each other and were able to reflect on and speak to many similar issues/ and interrelated problems and remedies. It is impossible to reveal all the many great points from each speaker but here are some highlights from each of the speakers:

ILO C190 Ending Violence in the Workplace and Promoting Decent Work, Ms Beate Andrees, ILO Special Representative to the UN and Director of the ILO at the UN, raised three important areas that the ILO is working on:

1. Care Economy- child care and long term care- investment could create many millions of jobs affecting billions of people.
2. Formalisation of work is critical for women’s work- 2 billion in the informal economy- the vast majority in developing counties. Many informal workers have no access to social benefits.
3. Convention on Ending Violence and Harassment in the Work Place- 12 countries have ratified the convention

 

Closing the Gender Pay Gap, Siobhán Vipond, Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and Trade Unions – Women Power Unions Canada, launched four key priorities for Canada:

1. Ending of sexual harassment
2. Fixing Childcare Crisis
3. Equitable Wage- Pay Equity
4. Access to Work

 

Siobhán also addressed the important distinction between ‘Equal pay for equal work’ and ‘Equal Pay for Equal Value’ which is essential to progress in the pay equity issue. #DONEWAITING

Chair of the ITUC Women’s Committee: Women’s Empowerment and Financial Inclusion, Andrea Grobocopatel, President,  FLOR Foundation represented the non-governmental world and exposed some of the disparities that impact women in the workplace- lack of water, lack of internet connectivity, and financial resources/access to resources. Andrea explained that 1/3 of adults worldwide are financially excluded-most of them are women and young people, and more than ½ of women around the world do not have a job. Andrea explained that the following action is necessary to reverse the situation:

• Equal access to the full range of financial services,
• Financial Literacy,
• Financial Inclusion.

 

It’s necessary to get businesses involved and committed to the financial inclusion of women: “When more women work – Economies Grow”.

Bev Bucur, Soroptimist International Advocacy Advisor explained that SI understands that education is crucial to economic stability and progress. Bev highlighted the following two Soroptimist programs which address the necessity of supporting both young women and adults to prepare for their careers:

• Live Your Dream, this 50-year-old program has supported over 30,000 women in their educational journeys empowering them to select how their financial award is to be used. This is not a scholarship. It gives the honorees the resources they need to improve their education, skills, and employment prospects. 84% of awardees report success.
• Dream It Be It- Career Support for Girls- launched in 2015 with 84,000 girls participating since. The focus is on building confidence and career-orientated skills to help girls direct the course of their education/career choices.

 

STEM Education -Why STEM?, Elena Pinetti, Scientist at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (USA) and Soroptimist Member addressed the crucial issue of including girls/women in the ever-increasing work requiring STEM education. There has been a 79% increase in jobs requiring STEM education. These jobs are a guarantee for financial independence and pay more than many other jobs.

Elena outlined the following barriers to girls and women entering STEM education:

• Society and the media
• School- often schools don’t include, discourage girls from this education
• Family and peers- don’t think that STEM Careers are for Girls/Women
• Learner – “self selection bias”- the individual herself doesn’t have the confidence or interest often because of the other influences.

 

The event covered several encouraging actions that we all can take to bring real and lasting change; we must demand action- words and promises aren’t enough, we must increase the visibility of women in STEM – If she can SEE IT she can BE IT. We must be part of the network of support for women in all areas of work, encourage mentorship schemes for young professionals, and scholarships for women in STEM fields.”

WATCH THE FULL SESSION HERE