Regional Workshop on Gender and Labour Markets in Transition Countries   held in Warsaw on 15-17 January 2001

The purpose of the Workshop was to evaluate gender activities of international organizations in transition countries and to propose a way forward based on lessons learned and good practice. The focus was on the World Bank activities in the region in the context of changes on the labour market . The workshop gathered over 50 participants from eastern Europe, the Baltic States as well as from Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and other CIS countries. It discussed women’s losses on the labour market but also new job opportunities related to the development of private sector. The workshop was organized jointly by the ECE, UNIFEM and the World Bank. The ECE was represented by Danuta Hübner, Executive Secretary of the ECE. The keynote address was delivered by Hanna Suchocka, Former Prime Minister of Poland.

Economic recession, the closure of plants, restructuring and the financial squeeze have especially negative effects on women. The female labour force shrank as much as by over one third (Hungary) and one fourth (Latvia). Female jobs cuts in industry were related to the restructuring of light industries, such as textiles, which lost state support already in the early phase of transition (as opposed to male-dominated heavy industry) and the shedding of clerical positions in industrial enterprises. Women were also affected by large cuts in the feminized public sector service jobs and lost jobs in transport and communication. This was not balanced by any meaningful increase in women’s employment in expanding market-related services, such as banking, insurance and business services. The deterioration of women’s position on the labour market is explained by the pattern of structural changes but also by labour market policies. Women were encouraged to leave the labour market through early retirement policies (the Czech Republic and Poland) and more attractive parental leave schemes (Belarus and Ukraine). Their withdrawal from the labour force was seen in many countries as a remedy for massive male unemployment and cuts in childcare provided by the state.

The ECE presented the agreed conclusions from the ECE Regional Meeting Beijing+5 in the area of women and economy. It was underlined that policies aimed at reversing the negative trends in the labour market should address three main areas of concern (i) how to prevent discrimination against women on the labour market; (ii) how to increase women’s employability; (iii) how to ensure adequate social protection (unemployment benefits and pensions). Women’s entrepreneurship was considered as an important avenue to improve the quality of women’s jobs, opening the way to top management positions, higher incomes and access to non-female sectors of activity. In the United States, about 8.5 million women-owned businesses, account for one third of all businesses in the United States and employ one out of four workers. In the United Kingdom, women now start one new business in four. It was stressed, however, that development of women’s entrepreneurship in transition countries requires enabling environment and policies aimed at the elimination of many existing barriers, such as weak regulatory framework, lack of access to credit, the undeveloped institutional network of information and business incubation centres and business associations as well as unfavourable social climate and stereotypes on gender roles in society.

The participants critically evaluated the World Bank activities underlining that they had very little impact on the improvement of women’s situation in the region. The Workshop adopted specific recommendations for the World Bank which include actions to (i) promote engendered models of good governance; (ii) strengthen institutional arrangements in country and (iii) enhance Bank’s structures for gender . Special attention should be paid to establishing a dialogue between Government and the Work Bank at national level and establishing a regional consultative groups for gender within the Bank’s structure. The workshop formulated also a number of suggestions for enhanced partnership between the World Bank, The ECE and UNIFEM which call for greater transparency in donor strategies, better coordination in provision of gender disaggregated data, establishing inter donor working groups and increasing co-financing of projects.

For more information contact : Ewa Ruminska-Zimny, Senior Adviser on Gender and economy, UN ECE; e:mail: ewa.zimny@unece.org.