Houngbo Pushes for Stronger Female Participation in Africa's Labor Movement

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has called on African trade unions to strengthen women's leadership and participation in the labour movement.

ILO Director-General, Mr Gilbert Houngbo, made the call virtually while addressing participants at the opening of the 2nd ITUC-Africa Biennium Women's Conference in Lome, Togo.

The conference is themed "Trade Union Feminism and the Implementation of ITUC-Africa's Transformative Gender Agenda: Two Years of Action for Equity and Social Justice in Africa."

Houngbo said stronger participation by women is crucial to amplifying their voices in Africa's economic and labour decision-making processes. "Be bold and continue to lead. Organise more women workers, including those in the informal economy. Promote young women into leadership positions," he said, urging trade unions to build alliances across generations and movements while keeping gender equality central to economic and labour policies.

He said Africa's world of work is undergoing profound transformation, driven by digitalisation, artificial intelligence, climate change, demographic shifts and economic restructuring. However, he cautioned that these changes would not automatically produce greater equality if women remained overrepresented in informal employment and unpaid care work.

The ILO chief noted that women continue to face discrimination and violence at work, while remaining underrepresented in leadership and decision-making across the continent. He stressed that gender equality is central to social justice, inclusive growth, decent work and democratic governance, and should not be treated as a peripheral issue.

Houngbo said the ILO remains committed to advancing equal pay for work of equal value, expanding social protection and investing in the care economy. He added that the organisation would promote a just transition that benefits woman and accelerate the shift from informal to formal employment, while continuing efforts to eliminate violence and harassment at work—including through wider ratification and implementation of ILO Convention 190.

He said policies alone are insufficient, stressing that women need stronger voices in governments, enterprises, trade unions and collective bargaining processes, and should actively participate in institutions shaping economic, social, climate and technological policy across Africa.

Describing strong, independent and representative trade unions as indispensable to advancing gender equality, Houngbo congratulated ITUC-Africa for institutionalising the initiative, saying the second gathering reflected sustained commitment to gender equality, social justice and women's leadership.

 He called the conference theme timely and ambitious, translating two years of action under the transformative gender agenda into renewed momentum.

He expressed the ILO's readiness to continue working with African trade unions to build a more inclusive, equitable and just future of work, adding that women's rights should be protected, their contributions valued and their leadership strengthened to help shape a better future for all.