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Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Cabo Verde (RATIFICATION: 1979)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

1.  With regard to access to training and Legislative Decree No. 83/81 of 1981 which provides, in sections 5(c), 7 and 8, that students must join and participate in the activities of the Organization of Cape Verde Students in order to have access to a study fellowship abroad, the Committee has been asking the Government for a number of years to indicate progress achieved in the revision of this text so as to bring it into full conformity with the Convention. The Committee notes that the Government states once again that the information provided in its previous reports remains the same and that the provisions have still not been amended or repealed. The Committee urges the Government to indicate in its next report the measures taken to eliminate the requirement to belong to and participate in the activities of the Organization of Cape Verde Students in order to have access to a study fellowship abroad, and to supply a copy of the revised text once amended.

2.  As for the activities of the Institute on the Condition of Women in relation to promotion of equal opportunities and treatment in the fields of vocational training and employment, the Committee notes with interest the National Plan of Action for the Promotion of Women 1996-2000, prepared by the Institute for the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995). This instrument covers sectorial interdepartmental policies before being presented to all the social partners. The Committee observes that this Plan proposes measures for the emancipation of women by elimination of legal, economic, social, cultural and psychological obstacles hindering women’s more active participation in both the private and public sectors, particularly in the following areas: equity and access to power by women; rural development and fishing; education, training and employment; non-discriminatory treatment or stereotyping of women in the media. The Committee would appreciate receiving from the Government information on the results obtained by the implementation of this Plan, including copies of any reports, studies and statistics relevant to the promotion of equal opportunities and treatment in vocational training and employment.

3.  With regard to women’s access to training, and vocational and university training in particular, and their access to particular jobs and occupations including those traditionally reserved for men, the Committee notes from the above-mentioned Plan and the statistics it contains, that a certain number of factors continue to hinder significantly the equitable integration of women in the development process in the country: the low level of literacy among women (41.8 per cent are illiterate compared to 27.4 per cent of men); the high rate of unemployment (25 per cent); the concentration of women in socio-occupational categories that are under-valued; their reduced participation in decision-making bodies at the local, regional and national levels; the myth of female vulnerability and paternalism; and the sex-based division of work which maintains the traditional role of women. The Committee also notes, however, that, according to the Government, the integration of women in the development process is progressively being attained at various levels, such as through their participation in income-generating activities; in family-type production or at the level of a wider labour market; their advancement through general education or vocational training; and their access to fields previously considered to be the sole territory of men. In addition, the Government indicates that no specific measure has been taken to facilitate women’s access to vocational or university training since women are able to take such training in exactly the same circumstances as men. In this regard, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that the situation could be improved even more by the adoption of appropriate measures aimed at further encouraging women to consider training which is less traditionally or typically "female" with a view to promoting the principle of equality. In paragraphs 38 and 97 of its 1988 General Survey on equality in employment and occupation, the Committee indicated that archaic attitudes and stereotypes as regards the distribution of "male" and "female" tasks are at the origin of types of discrimination based on sex and all lead to the same result: the nullification or impairment of equality of opportunity and treatment. Occupational segregation according to sex, which leads to the concentration of men and women in different occupations and sectors of activity, is to a large extent the product of these archaic and stereotyped concepts. The Committee once again requests the Government to supply in its next report information on the affirmative action measures taken, and the results obtained, with a view to improving the situation of women in these areas.