Economic empowerment and labour rights of women in developing countries

When more women work, economies grow. A reduction in the gap between women’s and men’s labour force participation results in faster economic growth. Globally, women earn on average only 60 to 75 percent of men’s wages. Contributing factors include the fact that women are more likely to be wage workers and unpaid family workers; that women are more likely to engage in low-productivity activities and to work in the informal sector. Gender differences in laws affect both developing and developed economies, and women in all regions. Almost 90 percent of 143 economies studied by the UN Women have at least one legal difference restricting women’s economic opportunities. Of those, 79 economies have laws that restrict the types of jobs that women can perform. The economic empowerment and labour rights of women in developing countries will be discussed on the UN Women Committee at C’MUN 2018. This video illustrates this topic as a teaser of the conference.