Fact sheet on discrimination in the Americas, prepared by the ILO

InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work

International Labour Organization

English

DigitalCommons@ILR

Cornell University ILR School 
DigitalCommons@ILR 
Nondiscrimination 
May 2001 
Discrimination at Work: The Americas 
InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at 
Work 
International Labour Organization 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/nondiscrim 
Thank you for downloading an article from DigitalCommons@ILR. 
Support this valuable resource today! 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@ILR. It has been accepted for inclusion 
in Nondiscrimination by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@ILR. For more information, please 
contact catherwood-dig@cornell.edu. 
If you have a disability and are having trouble accessing information on this website or need materials in an 
alternate format, contact web-accessibility@cornell.edu for assistance. 
Discrimination at Work: The Americas 
Abstract 
Fact sheet on discrimination in the Americas, prepared by the ILO. 
Keywords 
AIDS, color, disability, discrimination, employment, gender, global, nation, organization, race, right, religion, 
work, workplace, law, legislation, HIV, human, labor 
Comments 
http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/nondiscrim/4/ 
This article is available at DigitalCommons@ILR: https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/nondiscrim/4 
Discrimination at Work: The Americas
OVERVIEW
More than 90% of the countries of the Americas have ratified one or both of the ILO's
fundamental Conventions on discrimination - showing a strong commitment to the principles of
equality at work. Some countries, particularly Canada and the United States, have made
pioneering efforts to tackle longstanding and emerging forms of discrimination. Both are among
a small minority of countries worldwide which have legislated against discrimination on the
grounds of sexual orientation. However, effectively eliminating discrimination is an ongoing
challenge, in every part of the Americas.
In varying degrees, racial discrimination persists in all parts of the Americas. Ethnic minorities and
migrant workers are mainly affected. Gender discrimination is also a widespread problem,
although there has been progress. During the 1990s, more women have moved into the labour
force - narrowing the gap between women's and men's participation rates. Despite this, women
still earn less than men, their jobs are less secure, and the glass ceiling still stops them from
advancing.
New forms of discrimination are emerging. As the HIV AIDS epidemic spreads, for example, so
does discrimination against those who are living with the virus. 
All forms of discrimination are often linked with poverty. Discrimination can worsen poverty, and
make it last longer. In turn, poverty can worsen discrimination at work by making it more
difficult for people to acquire the skills that the market demands, and excluding them from social
networks.
KEY STATISTICS
• In Latin America, poverty among indigenous people can be traced back to past
discrimination in the labour market, and constraints on access to and control over land.
Until recently, their participation in the labour market was mainly through various forms of
coercion in agriculture and mining. Today forced labour has declined although it still persists
in several countries.
• Almost a century and a half after the end of slavery in United States, substantial differences
still exist between African Americans and whites in unemployment rates and wages. Similarly
health, mortality and incarceration rates differ. African Americans still make up a
disproportionate part of the American underclass, although a new middle class of African
Americans has now emerged. The same holds true for people of African descent in Brazil.
• In Latin America's non-agricultural sector, the gap between pay per hour for women and
men narrowed by 10% in the decade from 1990 to 2000. Women have made gains in every D
isc
rim
in
at
io
n 
Fa
ct
s
International
Labour Office
InFocus Programme on Promoting the
Declaration on Fundamental Principles 
and Rights at Work
WORK IN FREEDOM
country, ranging from 19% in Paraguay and 14% in Colombia, to modest increases of 5%
in Chile and 1% in Ecuador. Even so, women's earnings were still only 78% of men's.
• Over the past 15 years, the United States has recorded the largest decrease among OECD
countries in the wage gap between women and men, with a fall of 38 per cent.
• People with disabilities in the Americas have higher unemployment rates and lower
earnings than the non-disabled - although differing definitions of disability make it difficult
to draw a clear picture. Available data shows that in Brazil, disabled workers earn 45 per
cent less than non-disabled workers. In Costa Rica, where the definition of disability is
wider, the difference is 11.5%. And yet, research indicates that when people with            dis-
abilities can find jobs, they take fewer days off and tend to stay with employers longer. 
• Discrimination against workers who are known or thought to have HIV/AIDS can come
from co-workers, customers, service suppliers and employers. It ranges from
pre-employment testing resulting in denial of hiring to breaches of medical confidentiality
that can lead to dismissal, or pressure to resign. An ILO study that included Brazil, Jamaica,
Mexico and the US found confidentiality breaches and dismissal were widespread. 
COMBATING DISCRIMINATION IN THE AMERICAS
Diversity strategies boost profits
Growing numbers of large companies and multinational enterprises in Canada and the United
States are adopting a diversity management approach to improve competitiveness. One report
has noted that diversity management strategies were already in place in three quarters of
US-based multinational enterprises, and that 92 per cent of the American human resource
executives thought they were directly related to profitability. Strategies often include: efforts to
reach out to a diverse group of students prior to and during recruitment; internship programmes
involving students from minority groups; training that addresses the concerns of particular
groups of employees; mentoring programmes linking members of under-represented groups;
and communication strategies intended to raise awareness of these practices within the
organization, and beyond. 
Do female workers cost more than male workers?
An ILO study covering Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Uruguay shows that the additional
cost of employing a woman worker - covering maternity protection and childcare expenses -
amounts to less than 2% of the monthly gross earnings of women employees. If all non-wage
costs are considered - including training and compensating work injuries and others that apply to
all workers - then the additional cost of hiring a woman is less than 1%. This results from the
fact that maternity related benefits and wages during maternity leave are not paid by employers
but are funded through taxes or social security.
Fighting discrimination and poverty together
In Brazil, the Municipality of Santo André is using anti-discrimination measures to fight poverty.
With help from the ILO, a three-year project worked to improve job opportunities for women
and people of African descent. Indicators with gender and race dimensions were set up to
ILO Fact Sheet - Discrimination At Work: The Americas 2
measure how effective the policies were at increasing employment and reducing poverty. In 2001
the Municipality's work was rewarded with the International Dubai Prize on Best Practices for
the Improvement of Living Conditions.
In Canada women's membership of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) reached 32% in 2000,
almost equal to the men's rate of 34%. The CLC has attracted women by pointing out that
unionized workers earn higher wages than their non-unionized counterparts - particularly
part-time workers, most of whom are women.
In Latin America, trade unionists from nine Latin American countries have identified new forms
of segmentation in the labour market along gender, ethnic and racial and age lines. Initiatives to
reach out to workers at the lower end of value chains, such as home workers, have ranged from
supporting the creation of homeworkers' organizations in Chile to statutory reforms to allow
social organizations to affiliate in Colombia.
In Venezuela, there has been pressure to have laws on home work observed. In the Caribbean,
both employers and workers organizations have taken the ILO code of practice on HIV AIDS and
the world of work as a guide for fighting stigma and discrimination.  
WHAT IS THE ILO'S ROLE?
The ILO works with governments, employers' and workers' organizations to promote this basic
principle and right. Eliminating discrimination is also a vital step towards achieving social justice and
reducing poverty, both at the heart of the ILO's concerns. The ILO has developed legal frameworks
in the form of two Conventions dealing with discrimination [Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951
(No. 100), and the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111)]. In
terms of the ILO’s promotional and awareness-raising work, the elimination of discrimination is one
of the four priority areas covered by the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
ILO Fact Sheet - Discrimination At Work: The Americas 3


Discrimination at Work: The Americas

https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&amp;context=nondiscrim

Discrimination at Work: The Americas

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

DigitalCommons@ILR