Employment opportunities for Asian women

Employment opportunities for Asian women

Keywords: Women, Employment, Disadvantaged groups

The Japan-funded International Labour Office (ILO) Asian regional programme on expansion of employment opportunities for women sets up employment-creation schemes for disadvantaged groups, such as poor women in the informal sector and those laid off as a result of the current economic crisis. Activities in Nepal and Indonesia focus on both community-level action and policy reform and advice,combined with micro-credit, entrepreneurship-skills training and other essential services for employment creation and poverty alleviation. A similar scheme was implemented in Pakistan and Bangladesh from 1993 to 1997, where more than half of the project's beneficiaries were women from destitute families. Under the ongoing project on employment promotion in China, women micro-entrepreneurs have also been targeted. Starting this year in Thailand, another Japan-funded project will assist women affected by the economic crisis.

For more information, please contact Ms Carmela Torres, ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. Tel: +662/288 1710; Fax: +662/280 1735; E-mail: torresc@ilo.org