GENEVA, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Women are still underrepresented at the top in global employment, a situation that has changed very little in the last 30 years, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said in a new report on Thursday.
A future of work in which women will no longer lag men is within reach, but it will take a quantum leap, not just hesitant incremental steps, according to the ILO report published for International Women's Day.
"We need to make it happen, and the report, A Quantum leap for gender equality: For a better future of work for all, provides a way forward," said Manuela Tomei, director of the ILO Conditions of Work and Equality Department.
The report took five years to compile under the ILO's Women at Work Centenary Initiative.
It found that in the last 27 years the difference in the employment rates for men and women has shrunk by less than two percentage points.
In 2018, women are still 26 percentage points less likely to be in employment than men.
Also, between 2005 and 2015, what is called the "motherhood employment penalty," the difference in the proportion of adult women with children under six years in employment, compared to women without young children, increased significantly, by 38 percent.
"Moreover, women are still underrepresented at the top, a situation that has changed very little in the last 30 years. Fewer than one-third of managers are women, although they are likely to be better educated than their male counterparts," said the report.
It generally showed that education is not the main reason for lower employment rates and lower pay of women, but instead that women do not receive the same dividends for education as men.
"A number of factors are blocking equality in employment, and the one playing the largest role is caregiving," said Tomei.
A future of work where everyone can care more, with time to care and inclusive care policies and structures is also strongly advocated in the report.
The need for universal social protection and a sound macroeconomic framework is also addressed.
