Advocacy

"BPW-A Advocacy Issue: Women's Employment Rights"

Estimates show that if discrimination was eliminated and women were paid at a level commensurate with their education, women’s wages would increase by as much as 45 percent in the private sector and 13 percent in the public sector. These estimates have strong implications for women’s incentive to seek careers in the private sector. Furthermore, labor, pension, and social security rules do not provide the same benefit structure for working women as they do for men. For example, male employees are eligible for family tax allowances regardless of whether their wives work, whereas female employees, despite contributing at the same rate, must demonstrate that their husbands are deceased, old, or incapacitated to qualify for government benefit schemes. Moreover, men can pass on their pensions to their families after their death, while women cannot. By failing to recognize the dependence of other individuals on women’s employment remuneration and benefits, such policies on non-wage benefits diminish the value of women’s work, affect the welfare of many families, and may further reduce women’s labor force attachment. Generally, the unequal treatment of women in the private sector is more prevalent than in the public sector. The civil service is the largest employer of females, most of whom work in the education, health, and social services sectors––a phenomenon that is seen worldwide (as women tend to cluster in the “care sectors”). In Jordan, this is also because of the relatively attractive public sector work conditions, such as job security and shorter work days, as well as retirement, health, and other benefits. These considerations elevate the importance of the public sector as the employer of choice for many women.

The BPWA seeks to raise awareness among women of their rights on the above is law because n practice, implementation is sometimes biased. The BPWA also recognizes the need to change the perception of employers on the balance between women's rights, and their responsibilities / performance. The BPWA has created a working committee of its members to devise an advocacy campaign strategy and implement it with key partners.