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The United Nations has called on the ECOWAS Parliament to come up with policies that protect and recognize the contributions of women in the informal sectors.
The Deputy County Representative United Nations Women in Liberia, Mrs Sangeeta Thapa, made the call during a Technical Session on “Strategies to Empower Women Working in the Informal Sector” at the ongoing ECOWAS Parliament delocalized meeting in Monrovia, Liberia.
According to Thappa, women in the informal sector contribute immensely to the economies of ECOWAS Member States without any recognition.
She therefore called on the ECOWAS Parliament not to limit their focus on women in the formal sectors alone but also push for policies that would protect and recognize those in the informal sector.
“Women are economic actors and the importance of women in the informal sector cannot be overemphasized”.
“They are backbone to the society and their contributions are not formally recognized but they have proven themselves to be economic actors but their contributions are not visible”.
“So it is very important to formalize their role and to recognise them to have an identity so that their contributions are recorded in the National Account system”.
“The ECOWAS Parliament should also recognize their role in society and push for laws that will protect them and recognize their efforts”.
“But as a regional body I think there should be a way to enforce mechanisms and monitor how they are implemented and how they are followed”.
“And probably come up with a solution on actions to be taken if they are not monitored”, Thappa said.
In her Presentation, Hon. Salimata Ouatara, Charperson, Gender, Social Action and Health Committee, Burkina Faso said jobs in the informal economy in West Africa accounts for 76 per cent of the working population, of which 53 percent are women.
According to her, it was important for Member States to take seriously capacity building of women in the informal sector to support and strengthen their businesses.
‘As long as women who are the majority in the population are not, or poorly integrated into economic growth, the impact of our State’s efforts on development will be less visible in terms of enrichment of the whole population.
“There is therefore a need to initiate and diversify inclusive, innovative strategies following the evolution of technology, that can contribute to the empowerment of women,” Outara said.
Dr Faye Ndoumbe, Programme Officer, Gender and Civil Society, ECOWAS Commission emphasied the need to promote advocacy so that laws could be changed in favour of women.
“We have to think of the best strategies and a law within the West African region to promote and protect women’s rights, including those in the informal sector”, Ndoumbe said.