By Meluse Kapatamoyo
Zambian women are denied equal opportunities in pay recruitment, promotion and career, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) country representative, Gerry Finnegan told MyWage Zambia.
He said women suffered gender-based violence and were discriminated against in workplaces.
A recent ILO report on awareness about women workers and their rights in Zambia revealed that women were marginalised and unfairly treated in many sections of the labour market.
“Available data revealed that women are denied equal opportunities in pay, recruitment, promotion and career. Men are often considered first. On pay, globally, women are less paid than men and we would seek to have a definitive picture of pay structures in Zambia, “said Finnegan.
He said to address this disparity, the ILO had taken the initiative of actively promoting the rights of women and taking steps to advocate for and share as much information with women.
The ILO supports several programmes such as Women’s Entrepreneurship Development and Gender Equality (WEDGE) which helps women workers, especially those who are vulnerable.
“The ILO has been dedicating resources to adopt, adapt and develop training materials to disseminate information on women workers rights,” said Finnegan.
Recently the ILO held a workshop for 19 women trade union activists under
the theme “Women Workers’ Rights.”