The Italian government and UN Women on Tuesday signed an agreement at the Italian Consulate in Jerusalem to promote women’s equal access to economic opportunities and decent employment in the Palestinian territories, Italy's overseas development aid agency (AICS) said.
The one-year programme will start in January and is funded by AICS and will be implemented in close partnership between UN Women and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) starting from January 2018.
The accord is a further step in the continuous efforts put in place by Italy to strengthen the role of women in Palestinian society, according to Italy's Consul General Fabio Sokolowicz.
“The action is part of AICS' strategy to support gender equality and Palestinian women’s empowerment in line with the Palestinian Cross-Sectoral Gender Strategy for 2017-2022,” said the agency's representative in Jerusalem, Cristina Natoli.
Currently, the majority of the female workers in the Palestinian territories are employed in low-skilled, low-income generating economic activities and suffer from a lack of training and professional opportunities.
Ulziisuren Jamsran, UN Women Special Representative of UN Women Palestine welcomed the new programme to address gender disparities in the Palestinian labour market.
“Empowering women in the economy and closing gender gaps at work are central to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," Jamsran said, praising the partnership, which involves the three key stakeholders - government, labour unions and employers.
The joint programme will help give Palestinian women easier access to decent work through market-oriented skills training, while promoting equal opportunities and non-discrimination as legal, enforceable requirements.
The programme will also bring in boys and men as key stakeholders and drivers in efforts towards achieving women’s economic empowerment, AICS said.
