Employmentweb_low

EMploYMEnt, work, And hEAlth inEquAlitiEs - a global perspective
woman working in a saharawi textile
cooperative.
source: antonio rosa (2005)
levels of wealth, cultural resources, political power, and decisionmaking
in economic and social affairs (Social Watch, 2008). It influences
responsibilities, benefits and vulnerability, and conditions the types of
workplace exposure with their consequent health impact and health
inequalities (World Health Organization [WHO], 2006).
Women - relative to men - have been restricted in their access to
jobs. In many regions of the world women are still self-employed,
work in the informal sector of the economy or in the domestic
sphere, and usually take primary responsibility for family wellbeing
(Cedeno & Barten, 2002; Lyenda, 2001; Messing & Elabidi, 2003).
Work is often "invisible" or carried out under bad, hazardous
working conditions. It often entails no direct payment and is
excluded from social protection (Acevedo, 2002; Social Watch,
2007). From 1960 onwards, and in particular over the last three
decades, women have reportedly increased their participation in
the world of remunerated employment (Social Watch, 2008; United
Nations Research Institute for Social Development [UNRISD],
2005; Wamala & Kawachi, 2007; World Bank [WB], 2001).
It is worthwhile to note that these employment gains are often
precarious and have occurred in a context of neoliberal policy,
structural adjustment, increased migration and overall reduced
social protection (Arroyo Aguilar, Ynonan, & Yupanqui, 2005; Cedeno
& Barten, 2002). Also, the organisation of paid labour, equipment,
tools and spaces have historically been designed for men, and
occupational health and safety standards have often been developed
using male models (Chatigny, Seifert, & Messing, 1995; WHO, 2006).
To some extent, these expanded employment opportunities have
contributed to enhancing women's economic autonomy (Arroyo
Aguilar et al., 2005; Wamala & Kawachi, 2007). Economic migration
from low-income to high-income countries may enhance women's
earning power, but it often increases exposure to exploitation and
discrimination, and has negative implications for their family-life
(Ehrenreich & Hochschild, 2003). Increased participation in the
labour market has not implied an elimination of the wide pay gap, as
women continue to earn considerably less than men (Social Watch,
2007). Currently, women's wage and job discrimination - relative to
men- is a “comparative advantage” and has made them, in many
countries, an attractive source of labour for many foreign firms
because of their lower wages (Fontana, Joekes, & Masika, 1998).
Also, women continue to fill lower hierarchical positions than men
and this gendered division of labour is found within the domestic
sphere as well as in paid employment (Acevedo, 2002; Valls-Llobet,
Borrás, Doyal, & Torns, 1999).
16