Elevating Women’s Participation in the Workplace in West Africa
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The Elevating Women’s Participation in the Workplace in West Africa project seeks to address discrimination and sexual violence and sex-based 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 sexual violence and sex-based 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 sex 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 sex analyses to better understand sex 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 sexual violence and sex-based harassment and improve labor laws regarding women’s employment and legal rights and workplace safety in line with ILO Convention No. 190.
- Grantee:
- Solidarity Center
- Contact Information:
- (202) 693-4900 / Office of Trade and Labor Affairs (OTLA)
- Tags:
- Violence
- Discrimination in the world of work
- ILO Convention 190
- Mining
- Oil
- Palm Oil
- Rubber
- Unions
- Women workers
- Women’s Empowerment
