Gender dimensions of the global financial and economic crisis

1. Gender dimensions of the global financial and economic crisis ITUC PERCRegional workshop: Women in the economic crisis and informalisation of the economy 7 Mai 2009 Verena Schmidt, Senior Specialist on Conditions of Work/ Gender Equality Subregional Office Budapest schmidtv@ilo.org

2. Structure • Context • Different Impact of Crisis on Men and Women • Empirical Evidence • ILO’s work on the Crisis • Policy recommendations

3. Setting the gender context of the crisis Even before the onset of the current financial and economic crisis, globalization was not economically or socially viable. While the world economy had experienced consecutive years of robust growth, the benefits were not shared by all:  Inequality between states  Inequality within states  Inequality between men and women

4. Why does the crisis affect women and men differently? • Gender based job segregation • Women as buffer workforce • Male-breadwinners, female care-givers • Women as cheaper substitute for men’s labour • Remittances • Unpaid care work and women‘s double burden: impact on poor

5. Empirical Evidence…

6. Global unemployment rates ILO has estimated that the financial and economic crisis is expected to increase the number of unemployed women by up to 22 million in 2009.

7. Gender inequality in sectoral employment (2008 figures) • Out of the 3.0 billion people that are employed around the world, 1.2 billion are women (40.4 per cent) • Industry: 18.3 per cent women as compared to 26.6 per cent men • Services: 46.3 per cent of women as compared to 41.2 per cent for men • Agriculture: 48.4 per cent of women as compared to 40.1 per cent for men are employed

8. Gender Differences in working conditions • The share of vulnerable employment was 52.7 per cent for women as compared to 49.1 per cent for men • There is still a big gender gap in wages with women earning an average of 15 per cent less than men for every hour worked In the Ukraine, women earned on average 27% less than men on a monthly wage in 2006 and 2007

9. ILO’s work on the Crisis • March 08: GB: Call for Global Jobs Pact • January 09: Predictions on Unemployment figures • Upon request country responses (Ukraine) • March 09: G20: ILO assessment for September G20 • March 09: Global Employment Trends for Women • June 09: ILC: DG’s Report on Crisis • ILC: CoW @ ILC 09 ->Global Jobs Pact (3-19.6) • ILC Report/Discussion on Gender

10. Global Jobs Pact • Financial support conditional on giving credits to real economy • Making DW the cornerstone of fiscal stimulus packages by creating labour intensive infrastructure projects • Avoiding wage deflation by increasing wages in line with productivity • Promoting international coordination in policy responses and avoiding protectionist solutions

11. Policy responses to the crisis • In developed economies, stimulus packages • In Central and Eastern Europe, fiscal space is limited in most countries and conditionalities are set by the IMF in Latvia, Ukraine, Hungary, Belarus, Serbia, Rumania • In Latin America social transfer programmes

12. Conclusions and recommendations Consider gender specific impact of responses to the crisis • Stimulus packages – in what areas? • Protect social spending • Social transfer payments • Social dialogue • Analysis of labour market and public employment service • Labour inspection and occupational health and safety