An estimate by the African Development Bank has revealed that in 2019, the Africa Gender Index (AGI) averaged 48.62% on the continent. The index combines economic, social, and political-institutional participation dimensions on a scale of 0 to 1, with 100% being parity between women and men. The low equality score indicates the urgent nature of considering gender equality as a fundamental issue in development initiatives. It is with this alarming observation that Coffi Agossou, Deputy Regional Director of the ILO Office for Africa, began his address to the INTA Committee.
In the context of its Gender Equality Week, the Parliament called for concrete recommendations to integrate the gender dimension into all EU trade agreements. During the debate, the ILO highlighted the multiplication of job opportunities in Africa thanks to international trade agreements. However, as the Parliament’s own studies have shown, the effects of these agreements have a differentiated impact on men and women.
On the African continent, women face serious systemic problems that international trade agreements fail to reverse. Indeed, the informal economy accounts for 80% of employment in most African countries, a sector in which the majority of women work. Furthermore, women lack training, have limited access to resources and decision-making processes (financing, information, time, negotiations, etc.), and are often employed in jobs with precarious working conditions. Women also represent an important share of migrants, refugees, displaced persons and asylum seekers. Moreover, many children on the continent are forced to work.
Agossou also highlighted international initiatives like the ILO’s Better Work and VZF (Vision Zero Fund) programs which have had many positive effects on strengthening women’s ability to control their incomes and make their voices heard within the household in countries such as Madagascar, Ethiopia, Kenya and Lesotho.
Based on the synergy between EU and ILO objectives, the Deputy Regional Director recommended that the EU encourage capacity-building for women to participate in the formulation of trade policies and agreements, and the creation of cooperatives aimed at empowering women. The ILO also stressed the importance of all EU member states ratifying, respecting and promoting the ILO’s fundamental conventions, in particular Conventions No. 155 and No. 187 on health and safety at work, as well as Convention No. 190 on harassment and violence at work and Protocol No. 29 on the elimination of forced labour.
Through the speeches of the guest speakers and the MEPs, and the gender provisions appearing in recent EU trade agreements, we can see that the EU has begun to integrate the gender dimension into these agreements. Nevertheless, it remains crucial to ensure that it is properly implemented, and to push for greater sustainability and accountability.
To sum up, the ILO Deputy Regional Director for Africa reiterated the need for the creation of a Global Coalition for Social Justice to better safeguard women’s empowerment.
Comentários