Sex Discrimination in the Workforce

Sex discrimination in the workforce is a bitter reality for women around the world. Sex segregation in the labor market traps women in jobs traditionally considered “women's work,” which are often in low-wage, low-skilled sectors. These sectors are also those with the fewest labor protections and oversight. Working women encounter discrimination in hiring processes and retention practices, such as pregnancy testing as a condition for employment, the exclusion of married women and the firing of pregnant workers. Women continue to make less than men for the same jobs, and they are often the last chosen for retraining programs and the first to be fired, particularly in transitional economics as nations undergo restructuring as well as in periods of economic recession when downsizing leads to discrimination. Sexual harassment and violence in the workplace are a common and constant threat to working women's lives and livelihoods.

U.S. Trade and Labor Rights

The United States can play an important role in combating sex discrimination in the labor force around the world by explicitly linking trade with respect for women's human rights. The U.S. provides trade benefits to many countries under a variety of trade acts. These benefits are conditioned on respect for “internationally recognized worker rights:” freedom of association, the right to organize and bargain collectively; the prohibition on the use of forced or compulsory labor; a minimum age for employment of children; and acceptable conditions of work with respect to minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and health. These rights were first listed in 1984 in the trade act known as the Generalized System of Preferences, or GSP, and are now incorporated into all U.S. trade acts. Countries that benefit from GSP can export certain goods to the U.S. paying little or no tariffs.

Right to Freedom from Discrimination

What's missing from the list of “internationally recognized worker rights” is the right to equality of opportunity and treatment. The International Labor Organization (ILO), a body affiliated with the United Nations, has a specific convention, No. 111 concerning Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (Discrimination Convention), that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, among other grounds. The ILO recently declared freedom from discrimination in employment and occupation one of the four core labor rights.

Strong worker rights language in trade programs can prove an effective tool in compelling states to take measures to protect labor rights or face revocation of preferential treatment. Because freedom from discrimination is not included in these U.S. trade programs, there is little opportunity to incorporate concerns about sex discrimination into country assessments. Until U.S. trade acts include meaningful conditionality related to nondiscrimination, they will effectively protect and subsidize practices around the world that blatantly discriminate against women in the labor force.

1. Take Action Now - Please send letters to corporations, manufacturers, and government representatives urging them to eliminate discriminatory practices and adopt and practice fair labor standards. Click here for sample letters and contact information.

2. Learn more about sex discrimination against women workers:
   
   International Human RIghts Norms
   Human Rights Watch Reports:
   
   From the Household to the Factory: Sex Discrimination in the Guatemalan Labor Force, January 2002
   A Job or Your Rights: Continued Sex Discrimination in Mexico’s Maquiladora Sector, December 1998
   No Guarantees: Sex Discrimination in Mexico's Maquiladora Sector, August 1996
   Russia Neither Jobs Nor Justice: State Discrimination Against Women in Russia, March 1995
   

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