Global economic crisis, gender and employment: the impact and policy response

The paper analyses the gender dimensions of the impact of the global economic crisis on the world of work, highlighting the overall higher vulnerabilities and insecurity of women’s work than men’s. It analyses the gender differentiated regional global and regional trends of unemployment and vulnerable employment between 2007 and 2009, drawing on the published available ILO data and information. Particular attention is paid to the impact on women workers in the export-oriented textile and clothing industry, which has been negatively impacted upon by the global downturn, focusing on Cambodia and Mauritius. The paper puts forward policy recommendations for specifically integrating gender concerns into policy response to the economic crisis, in order to promote more productive employment and decent work opportunities equally for women and men.