USAID WEE CoP Learning Event: Raising the Economic Power of Domestic Workers (January 2023)
On Thursday, January 19, 2023, the USAID Women’s Economic Empowerment Community of Practice (USAID WEE CoP) hosted its learning event “Raising the Economic Power of Domestic Workers.” The learning event included remarks from Kelly M. Fay Rodríguez, U.S. Special Representative for International Labor Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, and feature Claire Hobden, Specialist on Domestic and other Vulnerable Work at the International Labour Organization (ILO), who presented findings from the ILO’s report, “Making decent work a reality for domestic workers: Progress and prospects ten years after the adoption of the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189).”
A discussion followed with a panel of experts from the ILO, the International Domestic Workers Federation (IDWF), and the USAID Regional Development Mission for Asia (USAID /RDMA) who provided practical examples of how to improve working conditions for domestic workers. Anjali Fleury, Gender Equity and Equality Action Fund Team Lead and Senior Gender Advisor in the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Hub at USAID (USAID/GenDev), moderated the panel joined by presenter Claire Hobden as well as Elizabeth Tang, General Secretary of the IDWF, and Elizabeth Callender, Vulnerable Populations Team Lead in the General Development Office at USAID/RDMA.
For more resources on data from the International Labour Organization, follow these links:
- Thematic webpage on domestic workers
- Data maps showing key data from the global report above
- “Making the right to social security a reality for domestic workers: A global review of policy trends, statistics and extension strategies”
To learn about the International Domestic Workers Federation’s work, review these resources:
- IDWF’s About Us page, including the Federation’s history
- A podcast, “Migrant Domestic Workers speak about the Labor Laws”
- “Silent No More: Domestic Workers Confront Violence at Work,” showcasing the stories of four unionists
- “Leadership, Unity, reNovation and Amplification (LUNA)” report
- “Domestic Workers Organize Against Violence and Harassment” training pack
For more information on domestic workers in Asia, here are resources from USAID/RDMA:
- “Indebted Before Departure: Information Arbitrage and Financial Exploitation by Philippine Migration Intermediaries,” a report developed by Migrasia
- USAID Asia Counter Trafficking in Persons (CTIP) website
- The Remedy Project partner website