The International Labour Conference (ILC) has just celebrated the centenary of the International Labour Organization (ILO) with the adoption of the "Declaration for the Future of Work", which includes a "Recommendation concerning the elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work", at a meeting in Genève attended by 6,300 delegates representing governments, employers and workers from 178 Member States.

These "historical instruments" constitute a human-centred approach, with international initiatives and cooperation for a just transition to an environmentally sustainable future of work, promoting skills and supporting transitions throughout working life; implementing a transforming agenda to achieve gender equality at work, treating safe and healthy working conditions as a fundamental principle, work rights; and providing all workers with universal access to social protection, an adequate minimum salary and other labour protection measures.
In a new blog series, we will highlight the European initiatives that Fundación Laboral de la Construcción is developing in accordance with the aspects highlighted in this new ILO Declaration.

Gender equality

We begin with the constitutional principle of gender equality which addresses the "Declaration for the Future of Work", which proposes: "Achieving gender equality at work through a transformative agenda, periodically evaluating the progress made, which:

• ensure equal opportunities, equal participation and equal treatment, including equal remuneration between women and men for work of equal value;
• it should also provide for a more balanced sharing of family responsibilities;
• enable a better balance between work and private life, so that workers and employers agree on solutions, including in relation to working time, which take into account their respective needs and benefits;
• and promote investment in the care economy.

Finally, the “Recommendation" reminds member states that they have a responsibility to promote a "zero-tolerance general environment" for violence and harassment, among other issues.

Women Can Build

Although Fundación Laboral has been promoting the training of women in its different Territorial Councils for more than a decade, since 2017, aware of the need to consolidate the incorporation of women into the construction sector, the joint entity has been working for the "Re-conception of Vocational Training towards an industry on an equal position" through the European project Women Can Build.

This initiative is being developed with a three-dimensional and transversal perspective, directing its work to three fundamental groups:

1. Women: to encourage the overcoming of cultural barriers and increase women's interest in the sector, through the publication of training, orientations, studies and other information of interest.
2. Teachers and Vocational Training (VET) Centres: to enable trainers in the sector to become aware of existing gender equality barriers, to know solutions or good practices and measures used to resolve them and to learn how to deal with conflict resolution.
3. Companies: for the adjustment of gender competences in construction and that companies can obtain, free of charge, guidance for the promotion of gender balance in their organizations.

Among the first results of this project has been published the report "Equality in teaching practice", and next autumn will launch free courses - Massive Open On line Courses (Moocs) - focused with gender sensitivity and a manual for trainers of Vocational Training in the construction sector.

In addition, in the second part of this initiative, the "learning-by-doing" model will be promoted with an immersive training experience, in which participants will be able to experiment with different activities in the construction sector.

Guides will also be created for vocational training centres, with the aim of developing mentoring skills for women; an action plan will be defined, with a roadmap and support services for companies; and a recognition system and a e-learning platform will be established.

First person' experiences

Women Can Build is collecting testimonies of women who have chosen to train or work in the construction sector, in a collaborative space to share experiences in "first person”, which serve as an example and motivate and favor the integration of women in the construction industry.