GENDER equality laws, how they are implemented and attitudinal changes in the workplace need to go hand-in-hand to ensure they are effective.
This was the view expressed by Fiji’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva Nazhat Shameem Khan during the “A Quantum Leap for Gender Equality: For a Better Future of Work for All” high-level event in honour of International Women’s Day 2019 at the International Labour Organization (ILO) headquarters, Geneva.
Ms Shameem Khan highlighted the importance of laws that guaranteed gender equality in workplaces. “Laws promoting gender equality are an important first step but we need to pay close attention to the way in which such laws are being implemented in the workplaces,” she said.
Ms Shameem Khan shared her experience as the first female prosecutor and first female judge in Fiji.
She explained how important it was to change the attitudinal landscape of workplaces to ensure that they were inclusive and to ensure that women’s voices were heard and that they were recognised equally.
Ms Shameem Khan also spoke on the challenges and intersectionality of discrimination that women faced.
Other participants included Oscar-nominated lead actress of the movie Roma — Yalitza Aparicio, ILO director-general Guy Ryder, CEO of Business Unity South Africa – Tanya Cohen, LinkedIn cofounder Allen Blue and Danish Confederation of Trade Unions representative — Mette Schak Dahlmann .
The panellists discussed the future of work and the value that women added in workplaces.
