Working insurence for Asian womenThis year, the annual meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women has a new focus: the global economic downturn.Economists say that in financial crises women are of the first to be fired, including for example, those in Africa engaged in exports like the sale of cut flowers to Europe.Among those attending the meeting in New York are government officials, UN agencies, and non-government organizations.Much of the debate this year centers on the global economic slowdown.Across Asia women are bearing the brunt of the global economic downturn as export manufacturers shed workers.The United Nation’s International Labor Organization and labor rights groups say Asian governments need to boost social protection programs for women and workers vulnerable to the global recession.Asia’s export-driven growth over the past 30 years has drawn millions of women into the work force, making consumer goods for the world.The work lifted families out of poverty and gave women greater independence and opportunities.Now the global economic downturn means tens of thousands of women are losing their jobs, as slow demand forces factories making everything from clothes to electronics to shut down.
