MCGREGOR
OUR CONSTITUTION contains no specific safeguard against discrimination on the basis of sex. This leaves open the possibility for discriminatory legislation to be enacted. In this article, I will address two examples of discriminatory legislation as they affect women in the work force - The Women (Employment of) Act and The National Insurance Act. They need to be reviewed.
The Women (Employment of) Act provides that "no woman shall be employed in night work" except in certain specific circumstances or in such trade or occupation as ordered by the Minister from time to time. The categories of workers not affected by the statute include nurses and health care providers, pharmacists, bakers and women who work in cinemas or theatres and restaurants or bars. Significantly, the list has not been expanded since 1961, and it remains unlawful for female security guards and service station attendants to be employed for night work.
Effectively, this Act prevents women from engaging in certain forms of economic activities and thereby limits their suitability for some jobs.
The National Insurance Act stipulates the national retirement age for men as being 65 and that for women as being 60, yet based on the Human Development Report for 2002, 85.4 per cent of Jamaican women had the chance of surviving to age 65, as opposed to 78.9 per cent of men. Moreover, the average life expectancy for women is 77.7 years compared to 73.6 years for men.
The Statistical Institute of Jamaica's Labour Force Survey for the first quarter of 2005 indicates that women comprise 42 per cent of the labour force and that the female unemployment rate is 15.4 per cent as compared with 6.9 per cent for males. One wonders whether any portion of female unemployment is attributable to legislation which prevents women from working in certain jobs at night.
HOUSEHOLDS HEADED BY WOMEN
In 1997, the Jamaica National Preparatory Commission National Report on the Status of Women in Jamaica revealed that 42 per cent of households in Jamaica are headed by women. This percentage is likely to have risen within the past eight years as an ever-increasing number of our men die by the gun or become incarcerated.
The last two pieces of legislation which had tremendous positive impact in this area are The Employment (Equal Pay for Men and Women) Act and the Maternity Leave Act, the latter of which was enacted in 1979. Even portions of these acts need to be revisited and far greater strides need to be taken to ensure that there are equal opportunities in the job market for men and women.
Sherry-Ann McGregor is an attorney-at-law and mediator with the firm Nunes, Scholefield, DeLeon & Co. Send feedback to lawsofeve@yahoo.com.
