Forum for Social Studies (FSS) held three simultaneous stakeholder round table discussion events on female wage labour in three sectors in Ethiopia on Wednesday March 22, 2023 at the Elilly Hotel, Addis Ababa.

The round table event comes as a  culmination of a field research project being implemented by FSS on the theme of : The State and Transformation of Female Wage Labor in three sectors: the case of Textile/Garment, Floriculture and Hospitality Sectors in Ethiopia.

The research and dissemination project which is financially supported by the Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa (OSIEA) aimed to assess the current state of female wage labor and its direction of change in Ethiopia.

The objective of the round table discussion events, in particular, was to develop sets of key recommendations that can guide policymakers, labor unions, employer organizations, civil society, and other stakeholders in their efforts to improve the state and hasten the development of female wage labor in the country.

The participants of the round table discussions were researchers, representatives of relevant government offices, trade unions, and sectoral associations (textile/garment, floriculture, and small cafès and restaurants).

During the round table discussion event, the three working group, consisting of some 10 participants each, were organized on the bases of the three sectors of textile/garment, floriculture, and small cafès and restaurants that were the focus of the FSS-sponsored research project. They thus identified key recommendations together with the risks and challenges that are associated with them. The groups also proposed strategies for overcoming these obstacles.

Around 30 individuals representing stakeholder institutions participated in the round table event and held productive discussions.

The proceedings of the three round table discussion sessions will be compiled, duly edited and published for dissemination to the most relevant stakeholders and the wider public for greater impact.

This effort will be backed by  the  electronic and print media outputs produced from the round table and other previous activities of the project aired via the Ethiopian Broadcasting Service -EBC’s national service radio program including communication materials and digital tools to further inform and influence public policy on the issues of female wage labor in the three studied sectors.