More women than men are likely to lose their jobs this year as a result of the global economic crisis, warns the International Labour Office (ILO) in its annual Global Employment Trends for Women report.
As the crisis worsens in 2009, the number of unemployed women is expected to rise by up to 22 million, the report predicts.
It estimates the global unemployment rate for women could reach as high as 7.4 per cent, compared to 7.0 per cent for men. This would result in an increase of between 24 million and 52 million people unemployed worldwide, of which from 10 million to 22 million would be women.
While the current crisis began in the U.S. and European financial sectors -- in jobs traditionally dominated by men -- unemployment is now spreading into sectors typically dominated by women, such as the service industry and the wholesale retail trade, the ILO says.
The gender impact of unemployment is expected to be worse for women in most regions of the world, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The ILO is especially worried about women in the developing world, working part-time in agriculture, or as domestic servants, on a piecemeal basis. They typically have no social protection and are especially vulnerable during an economic downturn, said ILO Bureau for Gender Equality Director Jane Hodges.
"Women's lower employment rates, weaker control over property and resources, concentration in informal and vulnerable forms of employment with lower earnings, and less social protection, all place women in a weaker position than men to weather crises," Hodges said in a statement.
She added that "women may cope by engaging in working longer hours or by taking multiple low-income jobs but still having to maintain unpaid care commitments."
ILO Director-General Juan Somavia says gender inequality in the working world is nothing new, but will likely be exacerbated by the crisis.
"In times of economic upheaval, women often experience the negative consequences more rapidly and are slower to enjoy the benefits of recovery. And already before the crisis, the majority of working women were in the informal economy with lower earnings and less social protection," he noted.
He added that the effects of the economic crisis go beyond the workplace and have an impact on the overall stability of society, considering the various roles that women play.
The ILO is calling on governments to ensure that new jobs created by economic stimulus packages guarantee fair salaries, and social protection measures.
The ILO issued its report in the run-up to International Women's Day, to be marked on March 6.
