Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Guatemala (Ratification: 1960)

Article 2 of the Convention. Promotion of gender equality. In its previous comments, the Committee asked the Government to send information on the measures taken in the context of the Institutional Strategic Gender Plan and the National Policy for the Advancement and Comprehensive Development of Women and the impact thereof on the promotion of equal opportunities for men and women. The Committee welcomes the Government’s efforts to send statistical information. The Committee notes that, according to these statistics, the labour participation rate for men in 2014 was 82.6 per cent, whereas for women it was 39.9 per cent. Also, according to the statistics, 55.2 per cent of women and 36.7 per cent of men work in low-skilled occupations, 29 per cent of women work in the public administration, and 33 per cent of men work in agriculture. Over 21 per cent of working men and women are in the commercial sector. Some 43.4 per cent of women and 10.7 per cent of men work on their own account. The Committee also observes that, according to the statistics for the public sector, 76 per cent of women are employed in education while men are divided between education (50 per cent) and public finance (38 per cent). The Government also reports on the establishment of gender units at the ministries and secretariats of the Executive Authority. Moreover, it states that the Ministry of Labour has provided training on human rights for some 50 public officials and that the Unit for Working Women at the Ministry of Labour has performed various training activities in schools concerning the labour rights and obligations of women and other awareness-raising and dissemination activities in various public bodies. Furthermore, a memorandum of understanding has been signed between the Ministry of Labour and the Presidential Secretariat for Women concerning inter-institutional coordination in the implementation of the National Policy for the Advancement and Comprehensive Development of Women and the Equal Opportunities Plan 2008–23. In reply to the question concerning the participation of women in the National Development Councils (CODES), the Government states that these constitute the principal means of participation in public management for the indigenous population and indicates the types of representatives who participate in them but does not state whether requirements exist regarding fair, gender-based representation. While duly noting the measures taken, the Committee reminds the Government that the national equality policy is required to be effective and that, according to Article 3(f) of the Convention, information must be provided on the specific results achieved through the adopted measures (see 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 844). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the specific measures adopted in the public and private sectors to increase the participation of women in the labour market and ensure gender equality in access to employment and training, including in sectors where women are not traditionally represented, and to eliminate stereotypes regarding the roles of women and men in the world of work and also in decision-making circles. The Committee also requests the Government to send information on the results achieved through these measures, including those adopted as part of the implementation of the National Policy for the Advancement and Comprehensive Development of Women and the Equal Opportunities Plan 2008–23. The Committee further requests the Government to provide information on the activities undertaken by the gender units established at the ministries of the Executive Authority.

Domestic workers. The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government according to which the Parliamentary Labour Commission has issued a favourable opinion concerning the ratification of the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the legal provisions that apply to domestic workers, particularly specific protection measures that exist for such workers, who are particularly vulnerable to discrimination. The Committee requests the Government to send information, including statistics if possible, on the participation of men and women in domestic work, in both the formal and informal economies, and on what occupational training measures are available to those workers to give them access to a wider range of jobs and better pay.

Indigenous workers. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the measures adopted for population groups in situations of poverty, which also benefit the indigenous peoples. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the specific measures adopted in education, vocational training and access to employment to promote equal opportunities for indigenous and non-indigenous workers and on the results of such measures, including statistics on the participation of indigenous workers in the labour market, disaggregated by sex and sector.