The project objective is to elevate working-age women's participation in the world of work, particularly women from underserved groups or populations, in liberia and nigeria

The Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs awarded a $10 million cooperative agreement to the Solidarity Center under the International Labor Programs (CFDA 17.401) to elevate women's participation in the workforce in Liberia and Nigeria from December 15, 2022 through December 14, 2026. The award will increase capacity to address discrimination and gender-based violence in the workplace through activities like training union leadership and implementing anti-harassment policies. It will also strengthen networks among workers, unions, and advocacy groups to establish cross-movement alliances and prioritize legal protections. The intended beneficiaries are women working in palm oil, rubber, and oil sectors. No subrecipient activities are included.

Activities performed the approach aims to make space for women's voices in unions and union leadership. Women's voices and intersecting experiences with discrimination, harassment, domestic violence, and gbvh, especially the experiences of underserved women, is central to the systems approach. Through capacity building for union leadership, strengthening women's access to and capacity for union leadership, train-the-trainer programs for women workers on their rights and male workers on gender roles, the approach takes aim at building knowledge, skills, and behaviors to make long-term sustainable change. Evidence shows that addressing violence in marginalized populations can cause more harm than good if marginalized populations themselves are not part of the solution.37F38 because labor power structures are largely male dominated in liberia and nigeria, IT is imperative to bring in the voices of marginalized populations through different avenues, even as SC works to increase representational voices in union leadership. Taking this into account, the SC, led by the project's gender specialists, will bring together union leaders and leaders of organizations representing an intersectionality of women, in addition to representatives from academia, religious institutions, and the government, to create a coalition that brings together the national representation necessary to impact discrimination and gbvh in the world of work. The goal will be to amplify women's voices, needs, and opportunities, increase marginalized women's visibility, and strengthen and grow regional and national coalitions to address discrimination and gbvh in the world of work. Deliverables outcome 1 will increase the capacity of individuals, communities, and institutions to address discrimination and gbvh in the world of work; sub-outcomes and outputs include increased ability of union leadership to understand and address gbvh; increased ability of gbvh victims to report grievances; women and women's organizations increase their understanding of legal rights and resources; women and contract workers have their voices heard within union structures; and communities increase understanding of and consequences of gbvh and discrimination in the world of work. Activities include gender analyses, capacity-building, training, and mentor programs to address gbvh, creating a grievance redressal system, and advocacy campaigning. Outcome 2 will strengthen networks among individuals, communities, and institutions to address discrimination and gbvh in the world of work; sub-outcomes and outputs include mapping of stakeholders to establish cross-movement alliances between labor and gender networks; increased awareness and capacity of government to uphold women's legal rights and prioritize and address gbvh and discrimination. Activities include power mapping stakeholders, coalition inception and strategies created. Outcome 3 will increase women's workforce equity through reduced barriers to entry, participation, and dignity in the world of work; sub-outcomes and outputs include increased ability for women to enter and succeed in the workplace; and increased dignity and workforce participation of women through gender-transformative collective bargaining agreements. Activities include examination and alteration of gender-blind workplace policies, CBA mapping, trainings for unions on gender-transformative cbas. Intended beneficiary women workers in the palm oil and rubber sectors and in the oil sector workers subrecipient activities NA