Economic Growth not Benefiting Women

(Afrique en Ligne)—African countries cannot tap the economic potential of women because most of them are stuck in low-paying jobs, making it impossible for them to benefit from economic boom, an International Labour Organisation (ILO) report says.

African women are engaged in widespread economic activity across the continent, implying that their economic status might be improving for the better, but the ILO report says the African women lack social protection and good earnings from their jobs.

‘The insufficient creation of jobs in the region and widespread poverty continues to be a heavy burden on women in the region. Women have little choice but to work...but nonetheless, poverty persists, implying a grave malfunction of the labour market.’

The report, discussed by African policy-makers earlier this week, was released Thursday, giving anecdotes on the state of women in employment. According to the report, African women do not work merely to get good earnings as it should be, but are simply engaged in non-paying jobs like fetching water, preparing food, tending children amongst other subsistence activities.

The new report, based on a study of the work environment and Africa’s policy environment, noted the various factors pushing women to accept indecent jobs, among them, the lack of alternatives to higher education, live vocational training. The report says even though the African continent has registered a few years of economic progress, productive employment, especially for women, still remained a pipe dream.

‘Lack of education alternatives meant that a large proportion of young women, who might be in school, also work in order to contribute to the household income. This is reflected in the high employment-to-population ratio,’ the report concluded.

ILO, a United Nations labour agency, said gender gaps still persisted in Africa, despite the increasing number of women in employment. This is because most employed women have a lesser chance of getting a better paying job than their male counterparts. African women are mostly employed in the agriculture sector, with at least seven out of 10 women engaged in small-scale farming, which are often under harsh conditions and have little or no economic security.

The studies of women’s engagement in other productive sectors like the service industry also showed some kind of hope that women can help make some inroads. The share of women in the service industry, showed a close balance of 26.4 per cent against men’s 25.2 per cent.

However, the share of women in vulnerable employment continues to rise, ILO said. No fewer than 82 per cent of African women are engaged in jobs where they are considered vulnerable to lack of pay.

The study concluded that few wage and salary jobs that are created in the formal sector tend to go to men before women, which means women in Africa are generally left with no option of taking up vulnerable employment positions.

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