US Department of Labor announces availability of $5M in funding to support working women in Liberia, Nigeria

The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a funding opportunity of up to $5 million in grant funding to improve workplace protections for women in Liberia and Nigeria, particularly women from underserved groups or populations.

Administered by the Bureau of International Labor Affairs, this opportunity will finance a project that seeks to achieve the following:

• Empower women workers, communities and institutions to prevent and address discrimination and gender-based violence and harassment in the workplace.
• Protect women against these violations and respect their rights to safety and dignity in the workplace.
• Provide women with remediation services to address these violations.

In West Africa, more women are employed in the informal economy, which is typically not taxed or monitored by governments. With limited oversight, the work these women do leaves them more vulnerable to workplace discrimination and gender-based violence and harassment. They must often work in intimidating, hostile or humiliating environments, and they experience various forms of inappropriate sexual conduct. In areas of Liberia, women also face economic discrimination as cultural traditions discourage their employment outside the home. In Nigeria, research shows more than 55 percent of women have suffered gender-based violence and harassment in the workplace.

Original source can be found here.