Women Workers Summit 2009

About Women Workers Summit

Background
In Asia as early as 2007 – 2008 the global economic crisis hit home with the rise in fuel and food prices felt acutely by workers and the poor. In 2009 the financial crisis and the consequent economic slowdown hit Asia hard as economies reliant on the export market and financial investment collapsed. An estimate 27 million in Asia will be unemployed by 2009 and vulnerable unemployment could grow by 60 million.

The hidden aspect of this crisis is the impact on women workers in the formal and especially in the informal sectors, manufacturing sectors and migrant workers which are the mainstays of the export market.

Women must be central to crafting solutions to the financial crisis, particularly since 70 percent of the world’s poor are female, who make up 80% of the work force at the lowest and unskilled level of the economy, and yet are the primary food providers for their families and communities especially in Southeast Asia. But the predominant government response to the crisis has been stimulus packages focused on physical infrastructure, creating stop-gap employment and refinancing bad loans. None of these have targeted women, although the burden of the financial crisis has fallen heavily on them.

The Women Workers Summit will examine the impact and consequences of the crisis on women workers, and discuss the various policy orientations that have been offered by Labour movements, feminist economists and other civil society movements.

Events
The Women Workers Summit consists of three events in December:

1. 9th to 10th December: Women Workers’ Summit: “Women workers at the front line of sustainable solutions”
2. 10th December (afternoon-evening): Launch of 100 years of International Women’s Day( IWD100) 2010 – 2011
3. 11th December: CAW Consultation: Building a Women Workers Labour Movement 2010-2013

Expected Outcome

Consolidation of women workers labour movement to bring about change in governmental regional institutions

United strategies for gender perspective and poverty reduction among women workers on migration and informal sector workers on national and regional level

Media and campaign strategies to engage governments and other regional structures

Addressed gaps in areas training and education to build leadership and participation among women workers groups

For more information, please download the Concept Note.

About CAW

Committee for Asian Women (CAW) is a regional network of 46 women workers groups in 14 Asian countries that aims to empower women workers to protect, advocate, and advance their rights. CAW is part of the global movement advocating workers’ rights for over 30 years.

For more informatio about CAW, please refer to CAW’s website: www.cawinfo.org