Tanzania announces over 47 commitments to boost women's decent work opportunities

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania has announced more than 47 new commitments to improve decent work conditions for women across both formal and informal sectors during a high-level meeting of the Generation Equality Forum (GEF).

This initiative highlights the country’s efforts to address the disparity in employment conditions, given that only 25 percent of women in wage employment are currently in the formal sector, with the majority working informally.

Chairperson of the Generation Equality National Advisory Committee and advisor to President Samia Suluhu Hassan, Ms Angellah Kairuki, underscored the essential role of the private sector in advancing economic empowerment for women.

“For sustainable growth and effective programs promoting women’s success, it is vital to integrate female inclusion into the core systems of business operations,” Ms Kairuki stated.

She elaborated on the goal of fostering a private sector that is responsible, diverse, and inclusive, supporting gender equality and women’s empowerment.

This encompasses ensuring women’s equal access, participation, and safety across all workplace, marketplace, and community policies and practices.

Officer in Charge of UN Women, Dr Mitra Sadananda, proposed several strategies to bolster private sector engagement.

These include creating public commitment pledges from CEOs, developing gender-responsive benchmarks, guiding companies on inclusive leadership, setting minimum gender standards for membership renewal, offering incentives for notable progress, and establishing a public dashboard to track gender performance.

“The private sector is crucial in driving this change,” Dr Sadananda noted. “Globally, it employs 70 to 90 percent of the workforce, and in Tanzania, this figure is 75 to 80 percent. Strengthening our partnerships is key to advancing the gender equality agenda.”

CEO of the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF), Mr Raphael Maganga, emphasised the foundation’s commitment to promoting gender equality within the private sector.

“We aim to raise awareness, promote special categories for equality, and support women in higher management positions and on boards,” Maganga said.

Since joining the GEF in 2021, Tanzania has pledged to increase investment in gender-responsive services, expand decent work opportunities for women, enhance women’s control over productive resources, and develop gender-responsive macroeconomic plans and budget reforms.

These commitments are aligned with the Beijing Platform for Action and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The forum represents a significant advancement in Tanzania’s efforts to integrate bold ambitions for women’s rights and gender equality into national and global agendas.