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INTRODUCTIONAccess to decent employment is a basic humanright, providing income as well as other intrinsicrewards such as dignity and social integration. Thecreation of decent work is central to inclusive andpro-poor development strategies, strengtheningindividuals, communities and nations. 1 Forwomen, specifically, access to good quality,paid work outside the home is perhaps the mostimportant contributory factor to their economicempowerment. 2 It plays a critical role in enablingwomen to be financially autonomous and toexercise greater agency in their lives. This, in turn,can improve the distribution of resources andpower within the household as well as expandingopportunities outside of it.International human rights treaties and InternationalLabour Organization (ILO) conventions recognizethe central importance of both the right to work—tohave full and productive employment—and rightsat work—to non-discrimination and to fair, safe andjust working conditions (see Box 2.1).BOX 2.1The right to work and rights at work in human rights frameworksThe Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that ‘everyone has the right to work, to freechoice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection againstunemployment’. 3According to The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR),rights at work are fundamental to the very definition of work, which must be decent: ‘thecharacterization of work as decent presupposes that it respects the fundamental rights of theworker’, including ‘respect for the physical and mental integrity of the worker’ and remunerationthat allows ‘workers to support themselves and their families’. 4For women, specifically, the right to work requires equal opportunities and treatment as wellas the elimination of discrimination on the grounds of marriage or maternity, as defined in theICESCR and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women(CEDAW). 5In addition, rights at work include:• Fair wages and equal remuneration for work of equal value• Safe and healthy working conditions 6