Strengthening Labor Rights for Women in Honduras
Honduras is the second poorest nation in Central America, with few stable job opportunities for women. Maquila sector jobs are among the few formal employment options, making women’s full, equal, and safe participation in the maquila workforce critical to the country’s economic advancement.
Under the Creating Opportunities to Strengthen Equity and Labor Rights for Women (COSER) project, AIR and our implementing partner, Grameen Foundation, worked to improve conditions for women textile and apparel maquila workers in Honduras by addressing gender discrimination at work.
With a team of widely respected experts in international and Honduran labor law and practice, women workers’ rights, women’s economic empowerment, training, technology, and institution building, COSER adopted a systems-based, participatory approach to engage key governmental, private sector, and worker and union actors through activities targeting the following objectives:
- Maquila sector employers created more inclusive workplaces where gender discrimination is appropriately addressed;
- Honduran labor law enforcement institutions more effectively investigated, sanctioned, and ensured remediation of gender discrimination in the world of work; and
- More women maquila workers know, voice, and claim their rights related to gender discrimination in the workplace.
