TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah has called on ASEAN member countries to provide better protection for female workers in the Southeast Asia region, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Cooperation between ASEAN member countries and social partners is needed to improve protection for female workers, as well as realize ASEAN's concrete efforts to achieve SDGs targets on gender equality and women's empowerment," said Fauziyah in a statement on Sunday.

"This is the right way to increase the protection for female workforce and their role in supporting economic recovery during the pandemic," she said.

The minister emphasized shared commitment to realizing the Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on gender equality and women's empowerment.

The issues on protection and empowerment of women as well as gender equality, she said, must be an integral part of efforts to recover social and economic conditions due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Fauziyah underlined the need for stakeholders to provide better protection for female workers, one of the vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, the government and other stakeholders also need to take several steps to increase the role and protection of women workers in an effort to restore the economy in ASEAN member countries affected by COVID-19.

She reminded that based on the report of the International Labor Organization (ILO), women workers in the Asia Pacific region were disproportionately affected by the crisis. This means that more women lose their jobs than men.

"Various reasons cause losses for women workers because most women in Asia Pacific region work in sectors that are heavily affected by the crisis," said the Manpower minister.

Read: Manpower Minister Calls on ASEAN to Mitigate COVID-19 Impact on Women Workers

ANTARA