OSCE-supported seminar focuses on challenges faced by female migrant workers

ASTANA, 14 September 2010 - Raising awareness of the challenges faced by female migrant workers in the OSCE region and the need for more appropriate policy responses, is the focus of an OSCE-supported training seminar which started in Astana today.

The two-day training event is organized by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities and the OSCE Centre in Astana in co-operation with the Government of Kazakhstan as the OSCE Chairmanship in 2010, the Finnish Government, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the International Organization for Migration and the International Labour Organization.

The event gathered around 50 mid-level government officials and policymakers from the Russian Federation, the countries of South Caucasus and Central Asia, dealing with labour migration policy analysis, development, review and implementation, as well as at migration experts, and representatives of labour unions, and employers' organizations. The training is structured around group discussions and case studies to make it as participatory and interactive as possible.

Ambassador Alexandre Keltchewsky, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Astana, said at the opening of the seminar: "True equality between men and women is an important element of just and democratic societies. This is especially important in the context of the promotion of movement of people and ensuring migrants' rights, which all OSCE participating States have committed to".

Birzhan Nurymbetov, Vice-Minister of Labour and Social Protection of Kazakhstan, stressed the importance of raising awareness of key challenges that female migrants face, as well as of identifying existing gender gaps. He emphasized that promoting effective gender and migration policies is one of the strategic goals of Kazakhstan.

Damira Sartbaeva, Regional Programme Director in the UNIFEM Regional Office for the CIS countries, said that female labour migration in Central Asia has increased partly as a result of the economic and financial crisis. "Many female labour migrants are working unofficially, due to insufficient access to regular employment opportunities, as well as lack of gender-sensitive pre-departure services. It illustrates a need to incorporate gender aspects into labour migration policies," she said.

The event is the second of a series of three training seminars on gender and labour migration, based on the OSCE's publications Guide on Gender-Sensitive Labour Migration Policies, and Trainer's Manual on Gender and Labour Migration. The previous event took place in Helsinki in April 2010.