BWI Women advance “gender lens” to promote a more equal future

BWI’s International Women’s Committee (IWC) on 4 November 2024 held its 22nd statutory meeting, where key achievements of BWI’s progress towards gender equality in 2023-2024 were discussed, with a special focus on the ongoing development and implementation of BWI’s “gender lens” in the global union’s various advocacies and other initiatives. 


Throughout 2024, during IWC virtual meetings and statutory meetings of BWI Regional Women’s Committees, BWI women leaders formulated a joint approach on the “gender lens.” The goal was to create a framework that provides a comprehensive perspective on BWI activities and generates insight into the actual situation of women in BWI sectors. This framework also aims to assess BWI’s progress in meeting gender equality objectives outlined in the BWI Strategic Plan and to identify necessary steps to advance this work. In essence, BWI women leaders integrated “gender lens” to evaluate BWI activities through this focused perspective.

The BWI Gender Lens framework encompasses three key dimensions:


  1. Macroeconomic Indicators and Gender Equality in BWI Sectors – covering women’s employment, access to education and skills, wages (including the gender pay gap), and working conditions.
  2. Gender Equality Performance of BWI Affiliates
  3. BWI Gender Equality Mainstreaming and Campaigns

“We invested a lot of time compiling available information and data, yet we struggled to fully grasp certain aspects. We’ve been discussing these issues in BWI sectors and unions for years, but the Gender Lens approach made it easier to systematise the data,” said Marta Pujadas, BWI IWC Chair, UOCRA, Argentina.


The IWC identified key priorities for BWI’s gender equality work:


  • Launching new vocational skills programmes for women, including ‘green’ skills, to attract more women into BWI’s male-dominated sectors.
  • Organising women workers.
  • Ratification and implementation of ILO C190 and elimination of gender-based violence.
  • Gender-sensitive occupational health and safety regulations in BWI sectors.
  • Closing the gender pay gap.
  • Promoting work-life balance and reducing unpaid family work, domestic work, and care work.

IWC members also reviewed six BWI gender equality campaigns, concluding that each is equally essential. They recommended identifying specific regions to take the lead on different campaigns, serving as “engine” regions to drive each initiative forward.