Elevating Women’s Participation in the Workplace in West Africa

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Country

Liberia Nigeria

Project Duration

December 2022

December 2026

Funding and Year

2022

: USD

5,000,000

The Elevating Women’s Participation in the Workplace in West Africa project seeks to address discrimination and gender-based violence and harassment in the world of work in the mining, palm oil, and rubber sectors in Liberia, and in the oil sector in Nigeria.

The Problem

In Liberia and Nigeria, women working in extractive and agricultural sectors experience gender-based violence and harassment, including rape, unwanted touching, and sexual abuse. Economic abuse and discriminatory practices against women in these sectors prevent them from formally entering jobs or advancing in formal sector employment. In Liberia, the government does not effectively enforce laws that prohibit discrimination based on sex, race, and other minority identities. Nigeria does not have laws that guarantee equal remuneration or prohibiting discrimination based on gender in employment. In November 2022, it ratified the International Labor Organization (ILO) Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190).

Our Strategy

To build a safe workplace for women in the target sectors, the project will:

Conduct gender analyses to better understand gender norms and attitudes of workers, union members, and union leaders;
Train union leadership and volunteer union members to collect information on incidents of violence and document complaints;
Develop grievance and referral mechanisms for women workers who experience discrimination and violence; and
Work with the Liberian and Nigerian governments, unions, and women’s organizations to address gender-based violence and harassment and improve labor laws regarding women’s employment and legal rights and workplace safety in line with ILO Convention No. 190.

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