SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
policy on pay scale equity
The new labour law prohibits employment of minors, or an individual below 15 years of age.
A woman should be paid equal remuneration for performing same work as a man. The standard working hours for women are the same as that for men. However, women may not work at night 8pm to 7am, except in clinics, hotels, pharmacies, nursery schools, homes for handicapped, airline and tourist offices, theatres and Entertainment City. They can work up to midnight in co-operative societies and public utilities, restaurants, beauty salons, banks, tailoring shops and offices. Employers are obliged to arrange transportation for women working at night.
Kuwait has not ratified ILO Convention No. 100 (1951) on Equal Remuneration but ratified ILO Convention No. 111 (1958) on Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) in 1966. The law stipulates that women’s remuneration should be equal to that of a man for “same work”. The stipulation falls short of the international standard for ‘equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value’. Article 29 of the Constitution guarantees equality without discrimination on grounds of gender, language, religion and other grounds. However, the absence of comprehensive legal provisions defining and prohibiting discrimination against women renders the constitutional principle unenforceable. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has found many discriminatory provisions in the Personal Status Act, the Civil Code, the Nationality Act, the Education Act and the Private Sector Labour Act. Several of these provisions concern women’s employment. For instance, the Private Sector Labour Law of 2010 prohibits employment of women at night, employment of women in dangerous, hard or harmful to health trades and “such jobs which are violating their morals and based on the utilization of their femininity in a manner which is not in line with the public morals”.
The government has established mechanisms on women’s equality, including the Coordination Committee on Women’s Affairs, which advises the government and the parliament’s Committee on Women’s Affairs. However, the impact and effectiveness of the Coordination Committee is not clear.
In practice, only 47 per cent of Kuwaiti native women are part of the workforce. Women face a gender pay gap of 34 per cent and they are underrepresented in senior and management jobs, although women account for 53 per cent of public workers. Only 14 per cent of highly skilled jobs are occupied by women.
Many women working as domestic workers are left unprotected as the law’s scope does not cover them. The difficulty of access of labour inspectors and other law enforcement officials to homes makes domestic workers particularly vulnerable to various forms of exploitation as well as sexual harassment.
In a case that could result in a landmark decision and create new legal grounds with regard to the employment rights of women, the Supreme Judicial Council rejected the application of a female law graduate to become a public prosecutor in April 2010. The Council based their decision on grounds of gender and explicit legal requirements laid out in the Constitution that ban women from serving in prosecutorial positions. On the other hand, in July 2010, the authorities allowed women police officers, previously restricted to deskwork, to work in public, for instance on patrols.
There is no law prohibiting sexual harassment at the workplace. Recently, the authorities established a women police task force, which intervenes in cases of sexual harassment in public venues.
The American University of Kuwait (AUM) upholds a strict policy against discrimination in the workplace. The university is committed to providing an environment where all employees are treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their background, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, disability, or any other protected characteristic. AUM's anti-discrimination policy extends to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, hiring, promotion, compensation, and termination. The university is dedicated to fostering a workplace culture that values diversity and inclusion, recognizing that the collective strength of its workforce lies in the richness of different perspectives and experiences. This policy underscores AUM's unwavering commitment to creating a fair, equitable, and harmonious work environment for all its employees.
AUM (American University of Kuwait) upholds a strong salary equity policy that underscores its commitment to fairness and equal treatment of all employees. The university firmly believes in compensating its staff and faculty members equitably, ensuring that salaries are determined by factors such as qualifications, experience, and performance, rather than any form of discrimination. AUM's salary equity policy is designed to create a transparent and objective compensation structure that reflects industry standards and local context. The university regularly reviews and updates its policy to address any emerging disparities, fostering a work environment that promotes equal opportunities and values the contributions of every team member.
The salary gap is usually null in several cases, however, it has always been stipulated in the council of the university, the importance of giving women the same job opportunities within our institution.
The purpose of the human resources department is to deal with any doubts or non-conformities regarding workers' salaries.
AUM is proud to support the empowerment of women in our society, and that includes our female employees, which is why we have policies related to work situations that protect and benefit our women, such as our maternity leave policy.
In this policy, AUM stipulates that pregnant woman who are part of the administrative staff will be entitled to a paid maternity leave of 70 days. In this policy, the employer may not terminate the services of a female employee while she is on maternity leave or during her absence from work due to illness that is proven by a medical certificate stating that the illness was the result of pregnancy or childbirth.
During this state of pregnancy, concessions are made to assist the pregnant woman including financial support for transportation and leave to attend health check-ups.
AUM respects the policies established by our government and keeps track of them.
A female must be treated just as much as a male for doing a similar job. Females perform almost the same regular hours as males. A woman can only labor between 8 pm, and 7 am if she is employed by a healthcare or resort or a pharmacy or a nursery or a center for something like the disabled or an aircraft or visitors center or a concert or Recreation Center.
Financial institutions and essential services, cafes, salons, banking, designing workshops, and workplaces are all places where they can labor till the early hours of the morning. It is the responsibility of the owner to provide transport services for women who work late at night.
Maternal pay for women is one month before the actual estimated deadline and 40 days once the kid is born.
