Labour and Gender

Asia remains a difficult place for women workers to work. In our patriarchal societies, women workers are discriminated against, marginalised, and their work is undervalued, even as they comprise the majority of Asia’s working population. In labour organisations, women workers are rarely represented in leadership positions even in organisations where the membership is predominantly women. AMRC believes that women workers must be heard and be able to lead in order to build a strong, democratic, inclusive and fair labour movement in the region.

AMRC supports partner grassroots organisations to build women workers’ collective power, and build their capacity to lead and fight for their rights
AMRC works to ensure that women workers and their organisations are able to identify, articulate their issues and make their demands heard and met.
Through various platforms at the national or regional levels, AMRC brings together leaders and activists to network, build alliances and solidarity.

International Women's Day 2016

2016-03-04

A day to honor and celebrate women workers and their struggles, but also a reminder that there is still a long way to go for women workers in Asia.

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Women at Work: Stories from Pakistan and Sri Lanka

2016-02-26

This year, in the run up to International Women's Day, on March 8, 2016, AMRC is publishing a series of stories to highlight the struggles and voices of women workers from across Asia.

Read more about Women at Work: Stories from Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Offshoring the Risks: Gendered Occupational Hazards in Malaysian and Indonesian Electronics Factories

2021-02-19

While health hazards and poor working conditions inside electronics factories have been well documented, few studies extensively cover these issues in terms of gender relations. This research attempts to establish a causal relationship between exposure to certain chemicals and the implications for reproductive health and investigates the issues that affect women workers more directly.

Read more about Offshoring the Risks: Gendered Occupational Hazards in Malaysian and Indonesian Electronics Factories

Workshop on OSH for Women Workers Educators - June 2016

2016-07-20

AMRC organised a workshop in June 2016 bringing together women workers' educators to talk about the challenges women workers face at the workplace addressing their health concerns, including reproductive health and issues such as sexual harassment.

Read more about Workshop on OSH for Women Workers Educators - June 2016

Training Manual - Workplace Hazards and Reproductive Health of Women Workers in China

2016-05-25

*This manual was updated in May 2016 with the new regulations in China.

This training manual was produced by China Labor Support Network (CLSN) for their training workshop on the Reproductive Health of Women workers in the garments and electronics manufacturing industries, mainly because of the higher concentration of women employees in these industries.

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[Bangladesh] Decent Work and Labour Rights for Working Women in Bangladesh

2016-03-24

Research Report by Labour at Infomal Economy, Bangladesh

This action research was conducted between 2014 and 2015 to examine the working and living conditions of a broad spectrum of women workers in Bangladesh, and to make recommendations as to how their conditions can be improved through capacity building, organising and advocacy, while taking into consideration their specific concerns. In addition to garment workers, informal workers such as waste pickers, street vendors, domestic workers and tea plantation workers were included.

Read more about [Bangladesh] Decent Work and Labour Rights for Working Women in Bangladesh

[Philippines] Multi-dimensional Vulnerabilities of Women Workers in the Informal Sector

2016-03-14

This action research conducted by EILER examines how women in the informal sector in two urban communities in Manila make the most of available resources in order to rise above their seemingly disadvantaged situation within the economy.