ILO Report: Workplace Discrimination Still a Problem (5/21/07)

A report by the International Labour Organization, a UN group that promotes workers' rights, shows that there are still numerous inequalities in pay and treatment in the workplace around the globe.

A major theme of the report, called Equality at Work: Tackling the Challenges, focuses on the persistence of pay and employment inequality between men and women. While more women are joining the work force around the world, they continue in every geographical region to be paid less than men for the same jobs, the report said.
Worldwide, the report shows women still face a "glass ceiling" that prevents advancement on the job. Women represent a distinct minority in senior positions, holding only 28.3 per cent of these jobs.
The report also shows that the disabled, gays and lesbians, and people living with HIV/AIDS are suffering from new and more subtle forms of workplace discrimination.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, unions are one of the best ways to help workers achieve equality on the job. While unions raise wages for all workers, the union wage benefit is even more pronounced for women and minority workers. Union women earn 31 percent more than nonunion women, and African American union members earn 36 percent more than their nonunion counterparts. For Latino workers, the union advantage equals 46 percent and for Asian American workers, the union advantage is 8 percent.