Report from the Five Breakout Groups, CSW Mitigating Heightened Instabilities: How Climate, Conflict and Migration Impact Work

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1 Report from the Five Breakout Groups, CSW61 1. Mitigating Heightened Instabilities: How Climate, Conflict and Migration Impact Work Discussion Summary: Speaker #1: Yvonne Simpson, Soroptimist International President, spoke on behalf of Eva Richter of the Poverty Education and Community Education (PEACE) Foundation and the NGO Committee on Migration, who was unable to attend. Yvonne spoke of how even though women migrants are a vulnerable population, we must, however, avoid regarding women migrants as victims; while acknowledging their vulnerability, we must find ways to empower women through careful restructuring to produce gender equality. It is known that women, far more than men, send home money in the form of remittances. However, this money is often not invested in the most advantageous way. This highlights the need for financial literacy and access to financial

2 markets for women to manage this money. Speaker #2: Kelly Yzique-Zea, a Peacebuilding Policy Specialist for the Global Network of Women Peacebuilding (GNWP). Kelly shared case studies from Colombia and the Philippines. In Colombia, as part of the peace negotiations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), women advocated for support to women farmers, including the right to own land (especially rural women), as this would enable them access to economic and political spaces, spaces usually reserved for men or women of higher socioeconomic status. While Colombia s new peace agreement focuses on land repatriation and proposes changes in the rural areas of the country, it does not go far enough. Kelly suggested that to ensure that women have access to land, they must be prioritised as heads of households (as many survivors are left to take care of the home during the conflict) and allowed flexibility in the context of land tenure. Debt must be forgiven and women provided with economic assistance. In the Philippines, women s organisations successfully lobbied the government peace negotiators from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to include a provision that guarantees that part of the income derived from natural resources in the island of Mindanao will be dedicated to gender and development programmes. Economic uncertainty for women during conflict and post-conflict is not solely applicable to the case of Colombia and the Philippines, but worldwide. Kelly underlined that women need to be incorporated into the workforce in post-conflict settings as agents of change, be involved in all levels of decision-making and be present at the table during discussions with donors and policymakers. Speaker #3: Mariet Verhoef-Cohen, President, Women for Water Partnership. and President-Elect Soroptimist International. longer distances and more permanent migration. Mariet spoke about the evolving issue of water migration. As global climate change, environmental degradation and mismanagement, and conflict threaten the quality and availability of water in the world, more and more people are being forced from their land. When potable water is not readily available, people may commute to the nearest fresh lake. Over time this can reach a tipping point, which may resort to Several UN Resolutions and International Laws cite access to water as a basic human right and one that cannot be used as a political weapon. Lack of water is directly

3 responsible for reduced livelihoods and dignity for both displaced and host populations. For countries which receive migrants, increased water demand results in increased sewage generation, and if left untreated, can result in the pollution of more water sources, thereby depriving more people of an increasingly scarce resource. Group Formulated Action Plan Recommendations: POLICIES: Support initiatives mitigating climate change (against the pushbacks). Promote Paris benchmarks becoming policies (Green Climate Fund). Encourage policies for environmentally sustainable energy investment. Emphasize moral and ethical dimensions. Support policies against re-appropriation of waterways and water diversions (economic advantages; indigenous rights). Re-categorise migration and refugee status (disaggregation of environmental and economic statistics). EDUCATION: Publicise research done. Recognise work of underdeveloped countries. Promote opportunities for women in sustainable agriculture (resiliency) in rural areas (women as agents of change). Develop infrastructure for rural economy (impacts national development policies). Recognise that refugee camps host a large proportion of women who are vulnerable to sexual exploitations; education and assistance are available. Support statement against corporate exploitation/military land grabbing and collusion with national governments. Recognise the important intersection between education and language, recognising education qualifications from different countries. Promote establishment of state-supported language and cultural literacy and community mentoring programmes. INVESTMENT: Promote women investing in ethical companies, education in investment options divestment from fossil fuels. Support moral economies. Devise initiatives to incentivise developing countries in green development.

4 DATA: Collect standardised data of both men and women migrants and fully understand the reason behind their migration. 2. Ending All Forms of Forced Labour (Trafficking) Discussion Summary: The program focused on three thematic clusters: Labor Trafficking; Early, Child and Forced Marriages; and Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation. Jackie Shapiro (ECPAT-USA), Laurie Richardson (FAWCO, NGO CSW/Vienna) and Adenike Osadolor (BPW-Africa) gave opening statements that set the stage for a lively discussion in the smaller breakout groups that followed their more formal presentations. The key points emphasized by these speakers were that trafficking is happening everywhere, that early marriages are also happening everywhere since people bring their customs with them as they migrate and that only by empowering and educating women will these issues be addressed. Winifred Doherty did a great job of keeping the program moving and staying within the

5 allotted timeframe. The breakout groups were assigned a specific topic to focus on and come up with two suggestions (by consensus) that the group believed would be helpful in addressing the problem. Group Formulated Action Plan Recommendations: The Labor Trafficking Group discussed how culture and lack of opportunities for education and employment make girls appear less valuable to a family, and, therefore, more likely to become a victim of child labor. The group discussed multiple approaches to this problem. Some approaches were suggested by all of the breakout sessions, such as education. This group s two specific recommendations are: 1) Get the business community involved and educated about trafficking and strengthen the legal frameworks around labor and sexual trafficking. 2) Work with groups, such as the Global Compact, to create opportunities for women to obtain employment and assistance in addressing a culture of exploitation. The Early, Child and Forced Marriage Group had a lively discussion of the linkages among poverty, customs and the lack of understanding of the impact that early marriages have on the girls or women involved. The key suggestions were to: 1) Address barriers to ending this custom, especially in faith-based and patriarchal societies, to prohibit marriages of people below age 16 (most people argued for 18 so 16 was a bare minimum compromise). 2) Educate women so they will be seen as an asset to the family and not a drain on family finances. 3) Enforce already existing laws. 4) Use social media to let girls (and their families) know that early marriages will limit their future earning power and early pregnancies will put the girls health (life) at risk. T he Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation Group suggested a targeted and culturally sensitive approach to the problem. Using this as a starting point they suggested: 1) Educate girls and their families about how traffickers work; educate girls about their own rights, self-worth and ability to contribute to the family income (so they won t be sold by their families); and enforce the laws, especially if borders are being crossed that are designed to protect people (girls and boys) who are being trafficked for sexual exploitation. 2) Use social media to warn against trafficking and to advise those people who are being or who have been trafficked for sexual exploitation of safe spaces where they can get help. 3) Train airline, rail and bus employees what to do if they think that trafficking is going on and start a global see something/say something campaign against trafficking for sexual

6 exploitation. 3. Creating Equalities of Work (Equal Pay, Upgrading Domestic and Unpaid Work) Discussion Summary: This breakout group discussed ways to create awareness of current pay gaps, strengthen and increase research on gender inequity at work, and monitor and lobby for global legislative frameworks and international norms. They discussed related issues and contributors to the gender pay gap, such as childcare and parental leave, and the power of collective bargaining and union organizing. Group Formulated Action Plan Recommendations: Create awareness of current pay gaps Publish the average salary for male workers and average salary for female workers in companies. Ask governments to create an awareness campaign to make people aware of their rights and action steps. Encourage civil society to educate more women as advocates. Increase studies to shine a light on the situation

7 Carry out a study of the contribution unpaid work makes to the GDP. Initiate studies on paid parenting; compare the traditional work of those who care for others to those of prison guards., work towards paid parenting and compare with other jobs. Global Legislative Framework and International Norms Make the work of domestic workers visible. Legislate a global standard of working conditions: regulated hours, time for rest, health and safety conditions. Legislate, mandate, and enforce a living wage, instead of a minimum wage. Other Suggestions Encourage more countries to ratify the Convention on Migrant Workers. Organize a strike - 79c per $1 - calculate equivalent time for what women are being paid compared to men and then women just leave work. Promote more women being represented by unions. Reform the childcare system to be affordable, flexible and accessible. Change the 30-hour limit of full-time work so women working part-time may also have benefits.

8 4. Tackling Gender Violence at Home and in the Workplace Discussion Summary: Dilshad Dayani, World Women Global Council Research model on how US immigrant communities from South Asia address social and cultural norms and how domestic violence intersects. Recognize significant challenges for immigrant South Asian women: lack of legal access and fear of deportation; lack of information; language challenges. Analyze interventions via information via social media; look at creating a social media portal on Facebook for sharing information that is culturally aligned. Promote culturally aligned good practices. Promote two-pronged approach of working with women and men. Use media and movies to spread awareness. Raphael Crowe, Senior Gender Specialist, ILO ILO is a normative organization advancing social

9 standards; the majority of workers are in the informal economy. How can we ensure social protections and enforce international labor standards? The ILO works on an international labor standard on violence against women and men; in 2018 the ILO will have a first reading on what is expected to be an International Convention on Violence in the Workplace, including the impact of domestic violence (DV) on the workplace. This could include, for example, collective bargaining agreements to include DV as a workplace issue and having leave provisions as a result of domestic violence. We are analyzing the impact of violence against women (VAW) and the ability of women to be economically empowered. The workplace can be a source of information and a supportive environment and opportunity for shelter and protection. The ILO is working with an international network on the costs and impacts of violence against women, assessing what governments are doing (check Canada and others), and reviewing many initiatives by employers and governments. This is a productivity issue that has a multi-million-dollar cost to employers as well as human rights violations. Group Formulated Action Plan Recommendations: From the presentations feedback from the small group discussions here are five key points: 1. We must continue to call for the right to live free of violence in all settings. This includes homes, schools, communities and workplaces. 2. We must continue to expand the public discourse on violence against women - raising awareness that violence against women is a crime and a human rights violation. Impunity for perpetrators must end and political leaders, police and justice must be held accountable. 3. There are many effective community-based responses that have potential for scale up. 4. The CSW outcome document should have a recommendation on the intersection of violence and economic empowerment. The CSW agreed conclusions should feed into the forthcoming ILO Convention on violence and harassment against women and men in the world of work. 5. We need to change societal norms and recognize that we need safe places, including workplaces, to address abuse. We need to make breakthroughs for workplaces to become safe places; how can the world of work contribute to ending violence against women?

10 5. Envisioning a Feminist Internet Discussion Summary: This group discussed the cycles of online abuse, and the need for online communication and action to mirror in-person behavior. The group also brainstormed action steps for integrating a feminist internet, implementing infrastructural change to make the internet accessible to all women, and building a feminist movement using online and social media resources. Group Formulated Action Plan Recommendations: Recommendation: Online abuse perpetuates cultural dynamics that leads to violence. Online usage is a reflection of and should mirror what we do in our everyday lives. Action steps: Protect women from revengeful acts and bullying. Monitor violence against women more effectively.

11 Educate through schools, home and Hollywood how to use the internet fairly. Create community and grass-roots solutions and integrative social policy to create strategies against technology-related violence. Recommendation: Integrate a feminist economic approach to the Internet, implement infrastructure change, remove barriers to full access and participation, build inclusive movements, and mobilize the next generation. Action steps: Promote purchasing power of women; shift economics towards humanity. Recognize social responsibility and accountability is good for business. Create more visibility for women in high-level technology roles (top-down). Google-create women-focused algorithm to mirror female population. Be more rigorous to remove hate speech and content. Use a direct action model to change harassment policy at Facebook, twitter, etc. Report media partnership and engagement intersectional data and how we experience online abuse and use to inform platform decisions.