Striving to reduce gender disparity in Cambodia

Cambodia will not spare any efforts in working to enhance employment opportunities for women despite making progress in narrowing the socio-economic gap between them and their male counterparts.

This commitment was expressed at a consultative workshop Cambodia’s Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training had with stakeholders and development partners last month. The meeting was held to assess the work in mainstreaming gender in labour and vocational training sectors, which are an important part of the national development strategy.

“There needs to be stronger support and encouragement for women’s roles in economic and social fields, especially in formal sectors through which they can influence economic policy and laws,” H.E. Vong Sauth, Minister of Labour and Vocational Training, said.

The government’s main development framework, known as rectangular strategy, has proclaimed Cambodian women as “the backbone of national economy and society.” Gender disparity is one of the main causes of poverty in Cambodia. While gender equality means ensuring there are equal shares for men and women, participants of the workshop shared a consensus that a greater emphasis should be placed on women who, in broad human development terms, are disproportionately lacking in opportunities compared to men – from access to education to health to skill training and to employment. In addition to experiencing socio-economic disadvantages, many Cambodian women also suffer from physical and sexual abuses committed by men.

The meeting took stock of achievements in raising awareness about gender equality among employers and employees and in enrolling women in vocational training to help them get decent jobs. The ministry manages 37 vocational training centres to help provide both men and women with skills for jobs. In 2005, the centres had 851 teachers, out of which 119 were women. In 2009, the number of female trainers increased to 186, demonstrating some progress, albeit small, towards reducing the gender gap. The meeting also discussed the challenges of the training, including a lack of female dormitories, which hinders women’s enrollment in skills training programmes located far from home.

The Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training is one of the 16 ministries and institutions in Cambodia which to date have instituted a gender mainstreaming action plan with support from UNDP and in close collaboration with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, the government’s main focal point to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. The action plan reflects the government’s commitment to improving gender equality through the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and other relevant international conventions and declarations. In its National Strategic Development Plan for 2006-2010 period, the government has also made a commitment to ensuring that female share in wage employment will be increased by 50 percent in agriculture and industry sectors, and by 37 percent in the service sector.

“Providing non-traditional skills and creating enable environment such as dormitories and scholarships for female students to access to these skills should be the priorities of Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training during the present situation of global economic crisis,” Ms. Chan Sorey, Secretary of State of Ministry of Women’s Affairs, said.

The current global economic downturn makes the message of the workshop even more important. The crisis is expected to worsen the hardship of the country’s most vulnerable groups, which also include women. Many women have already lost their jobs in the garment industry, on which they used to depend for income and to send remittances to their families in the countryside. The National Social Security Funds established in 2007 will generate significant benefit to both men and women to respond to the crisis and other risks at workplace.

Workshop participants also set new nine priorities for gender mainstreaming in labour and vocational training sectors for 2010-2013. The aim is to further disseminate awareness about gender equality and create more opportunities for women to get decent jobs and be included in decision-making roles.

“We must continue creating conditions for women to enhance their capacity in education and skills so that they can become equally capable as men in the society,” Ms. Prak Chantha, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, said. She added that “we must not spare any strength or energy” in carrying on with the task in making gender equality a reality.