Women and Employment (Eliminated in 2007)
Terms of Reference
(Revised August 2005)
Preamble
In 1975, the ILO stated "while women and girls constitute one half of the world's population and one-third of the official labour force and perform nearly two-thirds of work hours, they receive only one-tenth of the world's income and they own less than one-hundredth of the world's property".
On Monday, March 8, 1999, International Women's Day, Juan Somavia, the Director-General of the International Labour Office, pledged to step up the commitment to gender issues of the ILO, both within its own walls as well as through its global activities.
The CAALL Women and Employment Committee has increasingly turned its attention to exploring different types of barriers confronting working women — barriers which limit their full participation in the labour force, which inhibit their promotion possibilities, and which contribute to the stress they experience. The committee is also interested in looking at how economic restructuring affects women and how to mitigate any negative effects. In response to this increased emphasis on gender issues, the committee has reviewed and amended its terms of reference.
Committee Composition:
- The committee shall consist of one member from each jurisdiction, including the territorial governments. It is preferable that each jurisdiction's CAALL deputy minister appoint the WEC member.
- At any meeting of the committee, an alternate representative, nominated by the member jurisdiction, may participate on behalf of the member jurisdiction.
Objectives
- To assess and advise on the impact of labour policies and programs affecting women
- To identify and profile emerging issues which will impact on women
- To facilitate the application of gender-based analysis in the work of CAALL and its standing committees
- To identify and define research areas which would assist departments of labour in the integration of gender-based analysis of labour policies
- To assess gaps and deficiencies in current labour data preventing or affecting the quality of gender-based analysis
- To collaborate with other standing committees and undertake joint projects with them
- To liaise with other departments and agencies, including women's bureaus, within each member's jurisdiction with respect to issues and policies related to women in the workforce
- To report progress annually on the application of gender-based analysis in legislation, policy development, delivery and research
Meetings
- The Women and Employment committee will hold its annual meeting in June.
- The length of the upcoming annual meeting will be set at the previous meeting. The minutes of the annual meeting, as well as in the Annual Report to CAALL, will reflect the date and length of the meeting for the following year.
- The location of the meeting will be determined at the previous meeting, and will normally occur in the rotation, East, West, Central.
- Between annual meetings, the committee will meet at the call of the Chair, via teleconference or other technology, to complete work undertaken by the committee.
Chair and Secretariat
- Jurisdictions will take turns chairing the meeting, normally in the rotation West, East, Central.
- The jurisdiction chairing the committee will hold the position for two years, from the completion of the annual meeting in even numbered years.
- The member representing Human Resources and Skills Development, Labour Program will provide secretariat support.
CAALL WIEC CHAIRS and MEETING LOCATIONS and ROTATION
| Year | Chair Name | Jurisdiction | Annual Meeting Location1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 — 2000 | Gail Romaniuk | Saskatchewan (West Region) |
Ottawa (Central Region) |
| 2000 — 2001 | Gail Romaniuk | Saskatchewan (West Region) |
Quebec, PQ (Central Region) |
| 2001 — 2002 | Beth Stitchell | Manitoba (Central Region) |
Winnipeg, MB (Central Region) |
| 2002 — 2003 | Jacqueline Power | Newfoundland and Labrador (East Region) | Charlottetown, PEI (East Region) |
| 2003 — 2004 | Jacqueline Power | Newfoundland and Labrador (East Region) | Edmonton, AB (West Region) |
| 2004 — 2005 | Elizabeth Krywolt | Alberta2 (West Region) |
Ottawa (Central Region) |
| 2005 — 2006 | Elizabeth Krywolt | Alberta (West Region) |
TBD (East Region) |
| 2006 — 2007 | Julie Theriault | Quebec (Central Region) |
TBD (West Region) |
| 2007 — 2008 | Julie Theriault | Quebec (Central Region) |
TBD (Central Region) |
| 2008 — 2009 | TBD | East Region | TBD (East Region) |
| 2009 — 2010 | TBD | East Region | TBD (West Region) |
Regions:
West — Yukon Territory; Northwest Territory; British Columbia; Alberta, Saskatchewan
Central — Nunavut; Manitoba; Ontario; Quebec; Federal Government
East — New Brunswick; Nova Scotia; Prince Edward Island; Newfoundland and Labrador
1 Chair and meeting locations are to rotate between jurisdictions in a West, East, Central pattern for
chair, and East, West, Central pattern for meetings; however this changes periodically, due to committee
representation turnover, elections and other factors.
2 Central Region (Quebec) and West Region (Alberta) traded Chair rotation positions, due to
turnover in Quebec's representation.