GCM Objective 18

Invest in skills development and facilitate mutual recognition of skills, qualifications and competences
Statisticians entering data into the database for further processing and analysis. Turkmenistan. Photo: World Bank
Photo: World Bank

Issues

Women migrant workers are often concentrated in informal, low-paid and unregulated sectors with limited social protection and are at heightened risk of labour exploitation, servitude and abuse, including sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). To address these pervasive gender inequalities, migrant women’s work should be formalized and professionalized, including the care, cleaning, agricultural and domestic work they undertake.

Options for visas and work permits should reflect migrant women’s wealth of skills and experiences. The digital gender gap needs to be addressed for migrant women and girls, particularly for the poorest, those with little education, those with disabilities and those living in rural and remote areas.

Measures

  • Options for visas and work permits that give all migrants equal opportunities and access to the formal labour market
  • Inclusive employment policies that provide equal opportunity and equal treatment for migrant women in the labour market, including through recognition of existing skills and qualifications and targeted vocational training and skills development
  • Policies for the recognition of foreign qualification and recognition of prior learning that will facilitate faster integration into host country economies
  • Establishment of gender-responsive bilateral, regional or multilateral mutual recognition agreements that make specific references to recognizing the skills of women migrant workers
  • Comprehensive assessment of labour market realities and opportunities for women: recognizing where migrant women work, identifying barriers to access a broader range of sectors and addressing these barriers through inclusive skills development and private sector engagement
  • Formalization, professionalization and adequate remuneration of migrant women’s care, cleaning, agricultural and domestic work
  • Full and equal access to primary, secondary and tertiary education, continuous learning and vocational training for all migrant women and girls
  • Access to information technology and the Internet, including free or affordable computer literacy training and safe online skills development for migrant women and girls
  • Standardized documentation that outlines migrant women’s skills acquired on the job or through training, including in the care and domestic sectors
  • COVID-19: Ensure skills recognition for migrant woman health professionals who are awaiting accreditation of their certificates to provide essential services during the pandemic in host countries

Checklist

Question Yes Not yet
Has your State conducted an analysis identifying gender-specific barriers to women’s access to the labour market?
Does your State recognize foreign-earned qualifications on an equal basis to those earned nationally?
Do migrant women have equal access to work visa options in line with their skills and qualifications?
Has your State established gender-responsive bilateral, regional or multilateral mutual recognition agreements that make specific reference to recognizing the skills of women migrant workers?
Does your State have policies in place that recognize and formalize domestic and care work in line with International Labour Organization (ILO) Recommendation (No. 204) on the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy, 2015?
Do migrant women and girls have equal access to primary, secondary and tertiary education and vocational training?
Does your State provide free or low-cost access to information technology and the Internet, including free or affordable computer literacy training and safe online skills development for women and girls?
Are women migrant workers freely able to change jobs without jeopardizing their immigration status?
If yes, does this include women migrant domestic workers and agricultural workers?
Does your State have a standardized system for documenting migrant women’s skills acquired on the job or through training?
COVID-19: Does your State facilitate skills recognition for migrant woman to provide essential services during the pandemic in host countries?