HARARE - The International Organization on Migration has raised concern over the treatment of women in foreign countries who flee their countries for economic and security reasons when seeking employment.
In a press statement circulated in commemoration of the International Women’s Day on Tuesday, IOM said women should be given positions that are commensurate with their qualifications in the destinations countries. “Increased attention should be given to the situation of skilled migrant women for whom qualifications and education do not always translate into higher-skilled employment in destination countries,” says IOM.
The organization’s deputy director General Laura Thomson also raised the same concern over the mistreatment of women as they are still not treated equally with their mail counterparts especially when they are competing with their mail counterparts.
“Women tend to be under-represented in the most sought after professions by industrialized countries – IT, engineering, and business – and more concentrated in occupations that tend to be less easily transferrable because of national regulations, such as education, public administration and law. And so it is difficult to have their skills recognized in the host country labour market and to find employment matching their qualifications,” said Thompson.
Women are faced with a number of problems as they cross borders in search of highly paying jobs and these include the having to fight for recognition of their foreign credentials, lack of professional and social networks, ethnic and gender-based discrimination, and family responsibilities among others. This results in women taking up or being pushed to very low or unskilled occupations considered their work like receptionists, secretaries, child minders among other poorly paying jobs.
IOM says most destination countries de-skill the skilled workers as they don’t want to pay competitive wages thereby pushing women to the vicious life circle of poverty. “The economic implications of de-skilling are also enormous. Failing to utilize the wealth of skills, experience and know-how migrant women bring with them is not only a missed opportunity for the economies of countries of destination, but for also for countries of origin,”
concludes Thompson. “It is, therefore, vital for governments to critically review some of the biases implicit in migration regulations. Only by applying a gender lens to those fundamental migration policies can we make sure women’s opportunities are maximized and their economic and social contributions are both facilitated and properly acknowledged,” says the IOM statement. The world celebrates the International Women’s Day on the 8th of March every year in recognition of women’s existence and their role in shaping human lives.
Post published in: News