New Delhi: Globally, women’s education and skill development have made great strides, however their employment statistics are shockingly poor. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) released a report on International Women’s Day, displaying the ongoing gender disparity in employment.
Just 46.4% of working-age women will be employed by 2024, or 69.5% of men according to the survey. Women’s employment rates still lag behind men’s even if the disparity in employment between men and women has dropped from 27.1 percentage points in 1991 to 23.1 percentage points in 2024.
Thirty years ago, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action developed a list of goals for workplace gender equality. Women’s participation in the global economy has not notably changed despite decades of efforts. The paper states that women might not equalise with men in terms of employment for another 200 years if the present patterns persist. Given women’s increasing presence in all spheres of society, this is particularly alarming at this moment.
One recent example is Tanushka from Lucknow, India, who flew a Jaguar fighter plane first among women pilots. While women’s involvement in employment and education has grown over time, the labour market has not clearly shown any advantages. Over the last two decades, there has been only a slight improvement. Women occupy barely 30% of management-level roles worldwide, underscoring the sluggish speed of change.
Positively, according to the ILO report, pay disparities between men and women have closed. Women got 77.4 cents for every dollar males got in 2024. Still somewhat high, it had dropped significantly from 70.1 cents in 2004.
Director of the ILO’s Conditions of Work and Equality Department Sukti Dasgupta noted that it is still difficult to achieve the goals of the Beijing Declaration even after three decades since world leaders convened in Beijing to progress women’s rights.
Millions of women have been able to find better employment, but still face many difficulties. She stressed the need of quick measures to eliminate harassment and violence in companies, therefore fostering a better and safer workplace for women.
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