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1. Article 2 of the Convention. Promotion of the principle of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that relevant ministries carry out a number of national training sessions, meetings and workshops aimed at raising women’s awareness as to their rights and duties in the context of the follow-up to the recommendations of the International Conference on Population held in 2001. It also notes that the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has upgraded the Population Unit through integrating awareness and training on population issues in various fields and specific activities related thereto, and that a Committee for Women’s Industrial Affairs has been created based on the importance of women’s role in economic integration. While welcoming these measures, the Committee asks the Government to indicate the concrete ways in which the abovementioned structures and training sessions are promoting the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value and their impact on reducing wage inequalities between men and women that may exist in practice. Please also indicate whether any complaints or other action concerning wage inequalities have been initiated by women workers as a result of these training sessions.

2. Part V of the report form. Practical application. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that women represent 12 per cent of the judges and that there are 250 female assistant judges and hundreds of women lawyers and employees in the judicial professions. The Government also states that large numbers of women are found in the field of education. Noting from the Government’s report that statistics exist for the year 2002 on the composition of the labour force according to age, sex, urban and rural areas, occupational categories, and economic activities, the Committee asks the Government to include these statistical data in its next report along with the statistics on the average earnings of men and women, referred to in its previous report. In this regard, the Committee recalls that in all countries horizontal and vertical occupational segregation of women in certain jobs, sectors and occupations, is one of the underlying causes of wage inequalities between men and women. It therefore asks the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to determine whether there is occupational segregation of women in lower paid and lower level occupations and sectors in the country, and to report any measures taken to address this. This might include measures to increase the percentage of women judges as well as measures to improve access to better paid occupations and to widen women’s vocational training choices to enable them to move to occupations and positions that attract higher pay.

3. Further to the above, the Committee reiterates its request for information on government action to improve the situation of women working in "special occupations", including information on the remuneration paid in these female-dominated occupations in comparison to remuneration paid in male-dominated occupations.

4. Article 4. Cooperation with the social partners. The Committee notes that the Organization of Women’s Trade Union Confederation (OWTUC), which participates in the formulation of development plans, has taken on the responsibility of making Syrian women aware of their social and political role. It asks the Government to provide information on the activities of the OWTUC to promote equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value and to indicate the manner in which it is cooperating with the OWTUC to promote the principle of the Convention in the formulation of development plans, and the results achieved.