Human Rights Day: Women Workers and the Fight for Just Transition

On Human Rights Day, we reaffirm that climate justice is inseparable from gender equality and workers' rights. We must prioritise the human rights of all workers, especially women, who face systemic inequalities and heightened vulnerabilities in the face of climate change.

As we work towards a greener planet through a 'just transition,' we must question how truly 'just' it can be when entrenched workforce segregation and gender discrimination remain unaddressed in the workplace. The term ‘just transition’ refers to the transition to a human rights economy which is fundamentally grounded in human rights standards, including the rights to equality and non-discrimination, decent work, and access to justice and remedies.[1]

Every day women experience discrimination and gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) working in a factory, a farm, or in an informal workplace and these exploitative conditions are made worse by climate impacts. With temperatures rising to 40ºC during the summer months, the pace is slower and targets are not met. The ILO estimates that by 2030, 4.84 per cent of working hours in Bangladesh will be lost due to heat stress.[2] In the garment sector where women make up about 80 per cent of the workforce, women cannot get up to freely drink water because they are piece-rate workers and taking a water break can come at a high cost. A bathroom break when menstruating at work is also costly. Women workers who are already working at a fast pace are increasingly vulnerable to abuses from male supervisors, including verbal, physical, and sexual harassment as an attempt to bolster production levels.

Heat waves also mean work is much harsher for tea estate workers to reach their daily quotas; workers can only manage to pluck 15 kilograms of leaves per day before having to stop work in 40ºC weather, a quantity much less than their assigned quota of up to 25 kilograms.[3] This challenge is compounded by broader systemic issues existing in the tea industry where many of these workers, mostly women, are underpaid, have few or no health and safety protections and are marginalised, and they face additional challenges such as sexual abuse and domestic violence.[4] Tea estate workers are also forced to rely on their employers for food, housing and education, adding to their vulnerability. Even worse, private plantation owners in Sri Lanka have reportedly pressured the government to set a minimum wage below the poverty line -less than 1,000 Sri Lankan rupees (US$3.50) a day - forcing workers to meet an unrealistic quota.[5] This situation highlights that corporates must take actions and be held accountable to respect workers' rights.

Rising temperatures can also force waste pickers to work under extremely hazardous health conditions. High temperature in landfills increases emissions of gases such as methane and carbon dioxide, which can be dangerous to breathe. In India, about 80 per cent of the waste pickers are women and they are part of a larger and invisible workforce within the informal waste sector who earn about 150-200 Indian rupees (US$1.80 to $2.40) per day. [6]  The informal nature of their work, coupled with gender discrimination and societal stigma, reinforces their marginalisation and limits their ability to secure fair wages and safety measures. The lack of formal recognition means women are not part of any policy interventions to address the working conditions of waste pickers and exclude them from fair participation and economic empowerment.

At the COP29 conference, ILO stressed the need for gender-responsive policies that support both ambitious climate action and social justice, delivering benefits for all. A truly just transition for all workers – including women workers – requires targeted measures that prioritise the specific needs of women workers. It involves addressing gender inequalities, promoting decent work opportunities and labour protection, and ensuring equal access to resources, training, and decision-making processes, to protect women from exploitative practices exacerbated by climate impacts.

[1] https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/climatechange/information-materials/key-messages-hr-a-just-trans.pdf

[2] https://webapps.ilo.org/static/english/intserv/working-papers/wp031/index.html#ID0EEAAC

[3] https://www.solidaritycenter.org/photostory/bangladesh-tea-workers-a-lot-of-sweat-for-their-work/

[4] https://www.globalsistersreport.org/news/women-congregations-empower-sri-lankas-exploited-tea-plantation-workers

[5] Id.

[6] https://www.dailypioneer.com/2024/columnists/women-waste-pickers-in-india--transforming-waste-management-amidst-challenges.html