A/HRC/44/36 I. Introduction 1. On 27 and 28 June 2019, the Human Rights Council, pursuant to its resolution 6/30, convened its annual full-day discussion on the human rights of women. The discussion was divided into two panels: the first focused on the theme “Violence against women in the world of work”; the second focused on the theme “The rights of older women and their economic empowerment”. 2. The webcast of the panel discussions is archived and can be reviewed at http://webtv.un.org. II. Violence against women in the world of work 3. The first panel discussion was opened by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Prime Minister of Iceland, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, and moderated by the Chair of the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, Surya Deva. The panellists were Maria-Luz Vega, Coordinator of the Future of Work Initiative at the International Labour Organization (ILO), Dubravka Šimonović, Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, and Novelita Valdez Palisoc, Regional Representative for Asia in the International Domestic Workers Federation and National President of United Domestic Workers of the Philippines. A. Opening statements 4. In her opening remarks, the High Commissioner welcomed the adoption of the ILO Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190). She emphasized that the new Convention sought to establish an integrated and gender-responsive approach to ending violence and harassment against women workers, regardless of their contractual status; it tackled underlying causes and risk factors, including gender stereotypes, discrimination and unequal gender-based power relations; and it acknowledged the impact of domestic violence on workers. 5. She underscored the impact of violence against women in the world of work, both against women and girls themselves, as well as against society. She emphasized that behaviours and practices which resulted in physical, psychological, sexual or economic harm to women and girls damaged their physical and mental health and harmed the likelihood that they would enter into, or remain in, the labour market. Furthermore, she noted that the failure to pursue career development led many women and girls to be trapped in economic insecurity, unable to generate income or access social protections. 6. She reminded the meeting that hindering women’s participation in the labour market was a great loss, as women’s participation in the global economy could add up to $12 trillion in growth in gross domestic product by 2025. She also pointed out women’s crucial role in poverty reduction. She cited research in which the World Bank had found that in Latin America and the Caribbean, female labour market income had contributed to a 30 per cent reduction in extreme poverty over a 10-year period. In that regard, she emphasized that the elimination of violence against women in the world of work was in the interest of every State, every business, every factory, every community, every family and every individual. She stressed that the impact on the rights and freedoms of the individuals concerned was severe and that damage was also being done to productivity, business revenues and the growth and sustainability of national economies. 7. She emphasized that gender-based violence against women in the world of work was rooted in structural and pervasive gender-based stereotypes and discrimination, and that a culture of impunity and the failure to ensure equal access to justice for women and girls contributed to exposing them to higher risks of violence and abuse. She noted that multiple forms of discrimination against women and girls were often pushing women to do jobs in informal and precarious occupations with higher risks of exposure to gender-based violence, such as agriculture, labour-intensive manufacturing, hotels, restaurants, retail, domestic work and public services, such as transport and health care. 2