Swedish statement delivered by State Secretary Irene Wennemo.
Chair
The issue of gender equality in the report of the Director General is both timely and relevant. I welcome the report and that the Director General choses to highlight the issue of gender equality in ILO’s work in general, and through the Women at Work Centenary Initiative in particular.
But we cannot rest. The work is not done. We still have big challenges.
· Women are underrepresented on the labour market.
· Women are underrepresented in positions of power.
· Women earn less. Wage inequality is still a reality, 67 years after the adoption of the Equal Remuneration Convention.
Chair,
All people are of equal value, and must be able to enjoy the same human rights, responsibilities and opportunities. Gender equality also makes economic sense.
Sweden’s government wants to ensure that a gender equality perspective is brought into policy-making on a broad front, nationally and internationally.
In the development of the Swedish welfare state, gender equality has been a major factor. Affordable child care, a more equal division of parental leave, and individual taxation, are essential reforms which have had an important impact on women’s earnings, well-being and economic empowerment.
Social partners are responsible for wage formations. Equal wage for equal work is an obvious area where the social partners have an important impact.
Chair
I am pleased to see the response of the Director General to the #MeeToo campaign and the reports on sexual harassment within the UN-system.
I want to be clear. Men’s harassment and violence against women is one of the ultimate expressions of inequality. Preventing and combating violence, and other abuse against women and girls, is a top priority for Sweden, and must continue to be high on the UN’s agenda.
I also want to comment concretely on the report from the Director General.
The Director General has proposed five areas of action:
Let me start with suggesting a sixth area, namely to apply already agreed rights and extend the rights of work for women.
We know that women’s participation on the labour market is lower than men’s. The reasons for that varies and includes lack of childcare and old-fashioned views on the role of women in society and working life.
However, in many parts of the world women are excluded from many occupations, limiting their choice to freely choose their work. Women should have the right to pursue freely any job or profession.
The report rightly points to the care economy as a contributing factor in the push for equality. The absence of care facilities and the obligation falling on women to shoulder responsibility for unpaid and unvalued or undervalued care provision are widely recognized as crucial obstacles to the advancement of women at work.
One important aspect is an even gender distribution of positions of power Therefore, the proportion of women in leading positions in both business and public sector needs to increase.
Chair,
ILO should lead by example. Gender equality must be mainstreamed in the staff policy as well as in policies and actions. Sweden would want the ILO to place greater emphasis on increasing the share of women in higher positions.
Chair, let me conclude,
Women at work is the future of work.
Thank you!
