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Equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women. The Committee recalls its previous observation in which it had requested, in light of the persisting concerns relating to the employment situation of women, information on the implementation of the measures under the National Strategy for Equity and Equality between the Sexes through Gender Mainstreaming of Development Policies and Programmes to promote women’s access to vocational training, employment and occupation and to combat gender stereotypes. The Committee had also requested information on any measures taken to ensure the effective enforcement of legislative provisions concerning non-discrimination and equality in employment and occupation, particularly section 9 of the Labour Code, and to supply any administrative or judicial decisions concerning these provisions.

The Committee notes that the Government has taken further measures to promote equality between men and women, including the adoption of a new Strategic Plan 2008–12 aimed at promoting the rights of women, the gender dimension and equal opportunities, which include approaches and measures similar to the 2006 National Strategy (i.e. integrating a gender dimension in policies, programmes and development projects; promoting women’s access to posts of responsibility and decision-making; women’s representation in elected bodies; promoting women’s entrepreneurship; combating violence against women and girls; and combating gender stereotypes). The Committee further notes that in the context of the abovementioned National Strategy, the Minister of Labour is currently pursuing measures based on equality at work and the promotion of gender in the production units under its control with a view to improving the working conditions of women and combating all forms of discrimination. The Committee welcomes the commitment and efforts by the Government in developing appropriate strategies to promote equality between men and women. However, the Committee has yet to observe whether the National Strategy adopted in 2006 has generated any progress in removing obstacles, including sexist stereotypes and prejudices, to the implementation of gender equality and reducing inequalities that exist in practice between men and women in employment and occupation. The Committee, therefore, hopes that the Government’s next report will be able to demonstrate that the measures envisaged under the National Strategy of 2006 and the Strategic Plan 2008–12 are having an impact on improving women’s access to the labour market and improving protection from discrimination of women, particularly in the informal economy. The Committee particularly requests the Government to provide information on the impact of measures to improve the working conditions of women in production units under its control. The Committee also recalls the need for measures to ensure the effective enforcement of legislative provisions concerning non-discrimination and equality in employment and occupation, and asks the Government to provide full information in this regard. Finally, the Committee encourages the Government to establish mechanisms to enable it to assess in what areas progress has been made and in which areas more concerted efforts are needed.

Public administration. The Committee recalls its previous comments in which it noted that women in the public administration are concentrated in areas such as health, youth or education, and in jobs at the lower end of the hierarchy. In 2004, 35.2 per cent of the civil servants were women. The Committee notes the statistics provided by the Government on women’s participation in various sectors of employment and economic activities, but these do not provide an indication on the progress made in achieving a balanced representation of women and men in the various occupations nor in posts of responsibility in the public administration. The Committee requests the Government to indicate how it is monitoring the progress made in improving women’s access to a wide range of occupations in the public administration and to posts of responsibility. Please continue to provide relevant statistics, disaggregated by sex, in this regard.

Textile and clothing sector. The Committee recalls its previous comments concerning the situation of women employed in the textile and clothing sector who are particularly affected by job precariousness, wage discrimination, reduced access to on-the-job training, long working hours and poor working conditions. The Committee also recalls that, under the Decent Work Project, a pilot project is being implemented to improve the competitiveness of the textile and clothing industry through decent work, and to promote gender equality in this sector. The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government on the objectives and activities of the project. Noting, however, that the information does not indicate the steps taken to implement the action plan to promote effective gender equality in the clothing and textile sector, nor the results achieved, the Committee asks the Government to provide this information in its next report. Please also indicate how the cooperation of workers’ and employers’ organizations is being sought to implement the measures envisaged.

Equality of opportunity and treatment with respect to ethnic origin. In its previous observation, the Committee continued its dialogue on the measures taken to ensure that members of ethnic minority groups, such as Berber (Amazigh), do not suffer, in practice, from discrimination and enjoy equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and work. The Committee notes that the Government indicates that Moroccans of Amazigh origin do not constitute a separate ethnic minority and, together with the Rifains, Arabs, Sub-Sahara Africans and Andalus (Andalous), represent the multicultural diversity of the Moroccan population. The Committee notes from the report of the 2003 Working Group of Experts on Indigenous Populations/Communities of the African Commission of Peoples’ and Human Rights, that the Berber population is estimated at around 12 million people (45 per cent of the population) and has a distinct identity, culture and language (Tamazight). The Committee notes that the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture (IRCAM) has the mandate to promote the use of Tamazight in education and in social and cultural life and the media. The Committee recalls that under the Convention the implementation of a national policy on equality requires the Government to take proactive measures to ensure that direct and indirect discrimination in employment and occupation do not exist in practice on the basis of national extraction. In order to be assured that the Convention is being effectively applied in law and in practice to all groups of the population, the Committee therefore asks the Government to study the employment situation of the Berber population and to report on the progress made in this regard.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.