United Nations (UN) resident coordinator Mia Seppo has said globalisation and digitisation, though good for skilled workers, will continue to disadvantage more women who do the bulk of unpaid and informal work.
Speaking during the launch of the 2015 Human Development Report in Lilongwe on Tuesday, Seppo said the report makes a strong case that women are disadvantaged both in paid and unpaid work and there is a risk of a growing income and gender gap.
The theme for the 2015 report is Work for Human Development, Calling for Sustainable, Equitable and Decent Work for All.
Said Seppo: “The report makes a strong case that women are disadvantaged in the world of both paid and unpaid work. They not only have fewer opportunities for paid work, but they also shoulder a greater burden of unpaid work.
“Addressing gender inequality in both paid and unpaid work is crucial to ensure well-being of workers and advancing human development.”
She said the report resonates well with the situation in Malawi where a large proportion of Malawian women are in unpaid work.
On his part, Minister of Labour, Youth and Manpower Development Henry Mussa said the report’s theme has relevance across all development work in the country and is the basis for determining human development outcomes.
“The approach to tackling endemic poverty and inequality as the report suggests, is through a multi-sectoral approach with carefully planned investments and targeted activities that yield the maximum return on investment and the greatest transformation in the lives of the poorest poor,” he said.
He said government is committed to focusing on national employment strategies to seize opportunities in the changing world of work while also guaranteeing workers rights and benefits and expanding social protection and addressing inequalities. n
