Empowering South Asian women migrant workers through improved contracts

Escaping poverty and earning higher income often entails taking risks, and for women migrating into domestic work, these risks are often worth taking. From 2000 to 2017, the number of women migrants within Asia rose from 23 million to 34 million – a 48 percent increase. Most are employed in domestic work.

But many women domestic workers find themselves receiving poor wages, working excessive hours, and exposed to labour and human rights violations. In many destination countries, they are partially or fully excluded from labour laws and regulations, putting them at increased risk of violence and exploitation. And women migrants are among the most vulnerable.

Ensuring that women know their rights as migrant workers, including what should be in their employment contracts, is a crucial step in protecting them from abuse and exploitation – especially since some are not aware that their rights are being violated.

To that end, UN Women has launched Empowering Women Migrant Workers from South Asia: Toolkit for Gender-responsive Employment and Recruitment. The Toolkit provides comprehensive guidance on ensuring the protection and promotion of the rights of women migrant workers throughout the labour migration cycle. It also provides practical steps to: ensure that labour migration policies and governance respond to the lived realities of women; guide clearer consensus on employment contracts for women migrant workers; and ensure more effective services and protections during the recruitment process.

As more and more women decide to migrate for work, it is critical that governments, employers, recruitment agencies and civil society work together to ensure that women migrant workers are protected and informed of their rights.

Original source: UN Women
Published on 01 July 2019