This originally appeared on un.org/news
The global economic crisis will plunge a further 22 million women into unemployment and make decent work for women increasingly more difficult to find in 2009, predicted a new United Nations report issued today.
The International Labour Office (ILO) launched its annual Global Employment Trends for Women (GET) report in advance of International Women’s Day on 8 March, calling for “creative solutions” to close the gender gap.
“Gender inequality in the world of work has long been with us, but it is likely that it will be exacerbated by the crisis,” warned the agency’s Director-General Juan Somavia.
“In times of economic upheaval, women often experience the negative consequences more rapidly and are slower to enjoy the benefits of recovery,” he said, adding that “before the crisis, the majority of working women were in the informal economy with lower earnings and less social protection.”
