Decent Work and the Informal Economy

employment, governance, ILO, indicators, informal sector, representation, rights, social protection

Women in Law

With women entering law in record numbers, law school curricula are changing to include a feminist perspective. Yet a great need remains for more feminist attorneys, jurists, and legislators. While law has lent itself to abuse by oppressive forces, it can be an aid in the liberation of women and other underrepresented groups. But isn\u27t the problem of too few women lawyers taking care of itself? Granted, the female percentage of law students nationwide has more than doubled in the last five years. In the fall of 1972, 12,172 women were enrolled in 149 American Bar Association approved law schools. This is approximately the total number of women lawyers now in practice. However, women still constitute only a little over 10 percent of all law students. This marginal share could prove an ephemeral gain if steps are not taken to ensure a continuing upward trend. One wonders, too, if a threshold may be reached, limited by the pool of women whose self-image survived the damage of sexist childrearing so that they could even consider law as a possible career. Moreover, increasing the number of women will not mean much unless women who have discovered their feminism are prevalent among those admitted to law schools

Decent work and the informal economy

The ILO was founded for social justice, a mandate expressed today in terms of decent work as a global goal, for all who work, whether in formal or informal contexts. In June 2002, the delegates to the International Labour Conference from governments, workers’ and employers’ organizations adopted a resolution incorporating conclusions on decent work and the informal economy. The four components of decent work – opportunities for employment and income, respect for rights at work, social protection and stronger social dialogue – form the backbone of the ILO’s approach to the informal economy. These elements can also be seen through a development lens, and necessarily feature a strong gender dimension. To make the action foreseen by the ILC conclusions more easily operational in a cross-disciplinary way, the issues they address can be cast in terms of macro policy, governance, enhancement of productivity, markets and employment, social protection/addressing vulnerabilities, and representation and voice. All play key roles in poverty reduction. Moreover, recognizing the importance of measuring progress towards decent work, developments in relation to indicators are briefly described. This paper includes annexes reproducing the ILC conclusions along with two relevant resolutions adopted by the International Conference of Labour Statisticians and a list of ILO websites that address various aspects of decent work and the informal economy

Decent Work and the Informal Economy

The ILO was founded for social justice, a mandate expressed today in terms of decent work as a global goal, for all who work, whether in formal or informal contexts. In June 2002, the delegates to the International Labour Conference from governments, workers’ and employers’ organizations adopted a resolution incorporating conclusions on decent work and the informal economy. The four components of decent work – opportunities for employment and income, respect for rights at work, social protection and stronger social dialogue – form the backbone of the ILO’s approach to the informal economy. These elements can also be seen through a development lens, and necessarily feature a strong gender dimension. [Discussion Paper No. 2005/04]employment, governance, ILO, indicators, informal sector, representation, rights, social protection