On the 1st of May, we celebrate the work force and the labour movements, to remind ourselves of their importance in changing the working conditions around the world. It is a day of solidarity, a day to recognise the struggles for workers internationally.
This day must triumph the women whose working conditions are among the worst. Whose labour is more often than not unrecognised, uncelebrated, subjugated and discredited.
The normalised exploitation of women’s work is engrained within a neo liberal system of oppression that seeks only to benefit those at the top. The persistent stigmatization of industries in which women are the primary workers have led to an increase in their mistreatment and regressive attitudes towards a woman’s agency in the workplace. The rhetoric of empowerment has become classist when we fail to acknowledge that a woman may find empowerment in whatever manner of work.
It is recorded that women tend to work longer hours than men and yet are far less likely to receive promotions and additional training in their specific field of work. Moreover, on average women’s hourly wages are 25% lower than that of their male counterparts. What is more, while gender dynamics remain the same in the home, more often than not women are working while simultaneously undertaking the primary role when it comes to domestic tasks and responsibilities.
In order for matters to transform the relationships women have within their respective industries of work, we must act towards enabling better access to workers organisations whom can provide women with the provisions and facilities of a fair working environment that can empower, facilitate and enable women to accomplish and progress. By representing women’s rights within the workplace, this holds the potential to ameliorate labour rights for society as a whole. Such a process begins, by celebrating working movements, by commemorating those who are too often forgotten!
Initiative Féministe Euroméditerranéenne, Euromed Feminist Initiative IFE-EFI
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.