[women-rights] Ukraine: Women facing job discrimination

Ukraine: Women Facing Job Discrimination

(New York, August 27, 2003)- Gender discrimination in
Ukraine is cutting women out of the work force while the
Ukrainian government is doing nothing to stop the problem,
Human Rights Watch charged in a new report released today.

The fifty-two-page report, "Women's Work: Discrimination
Against Women in the Ukrainian Labor Force," describes how
Ukrainian employers discriminate against women job seekers
in the way they announce vacancies and interview applicants.

Both government agencies and private businesses regularly
request male applicants more frequently than females in
their job advertisements. Employers also use information on
women's family circumstances-which they require the women to
give during interviews-to deny women employment. Age and
appearance requirements also exclude many women from jobs
for which they are professionally qualified.

"The job market in Ukraine reflects some highly archaic
stereotypes about women's capabilities," said LaShawn
Jefferson, executive director of Human Rights Watch's
Women's Rights Division. "The government of Ukraine can't
claim to be a protector of women's rights while letting them
be consigned to the lowest-paying, lowest-prestige jobs."

Government officials routinely deny that discrimination
against women in the labor force is a problem in Ukraine.
But Ministry of Labor inspectors lack the will and the
training to investigate discriminatory recruitment
practices. Meanwhile, the State Employment Service endorses
such discrimination by posting vacancy announcements with
gender specifications, and even requesting gender-specific
vacancy information from employers.

The Ukrainian government has signed several international
treaties outlawing job discrimination against women. They
include the Convention Against All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW) and the International Labor
Organization's Discrimination Convention No. 111.

Gender-specific job advertising in Ukraine appears in
newspapers, employment magazines, and Internet employment
sites. State employment centers, private recruiting firms
and job-placement agencies routinely distribute such
advertisements. Vacancy announcements with requirements such
as "young woman from 18 to 30, attractive appearance" are
common.

Gender specifications can be found for all categories of
jobs. Advertisements for blue-collar work involving physical
labor as well as announcements for salaried mid- to upper-
level managerial positions request male applicants much more
frequently than female. The majority of advertisements
specifying "woman" can be found among service sector
positions-such as wait staff and domestic help-as well as
for lower-wage and non-supervisory professional positions as
secretaries and accountants. As a result, women are
dissuaded from even attempting to apply for many jobs that
match their professional skills and qualifications.

Discrimination in job interviews is also endemic and, for
women job seekers, can be grueling and humiliating.
Employers readily question women in interviews and on job
applications about their age, marital status, family
situation, family plans, and their husband's employment.
Then employers make hiring decisions based on this personal
information. For example, employers often deny young women
work because, as they tell the women, they are of an age to
be raising children.

Women over thirty-five also encounter significant obstacles
to employment, since the majority of jobs advertised for
women, including as secretaries, caregivers, and waitresses,
are typically deemed "appropriate" only for young women.
Employers regularly specify age requirements in vacancy
announcements and may deny a woman employment upon learning
her age during an interview.
To address pervasive employment discrimination against women
in Ukraine, today Human Rights Watch called on the Ukrainian
government to:

      * Publicly condemn discrimination against women in all
      recruitment practices, including job advertising.

      * Ensure that state agencies do not conduct
      discriminatory recruitment practices and cease the use
      of gender-specific job advertising.

      * Enact legislation to eliminate gender restrictions on
      parental benefits, with the exception of time off for
      childbirth.

      * In conjunction with non-governmental organizations,
      trade unions, employer groups and others, conduct
      national education campaigns to raise awareness of
      discrimination and sexual harassment in employment
      among women job seekers, employers, public officials,
      and civil servants, and to raise awareness about
      official remedies available to injured parties.

Human Rights Watch also appealed to international
organizations to take bolder steps in promoting non-
discrimination with the Ukrainian government. In particular,
Human Rights Watch urged the United States government and
others to include employer and employee anti-discrimination
education components to aid programs aimed at promoting
women's rights and combating trafficking in human beings.

Human Rights Watch called on the European Union (EU) to
assist the Ukrainian government in harmonizing its
legislation to meet EU standards on nondiscrimination and
equal treatment in employment and asked the International
Labor Organization (ILO) to provide additional training to
government officials, including labor ministry inspectors,
on gender specific labor rights issues and investigative
techniques.

To read Human Rights Watch's report, please see:
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/ukraine0803




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