Labour legislation and women employment in Tanzania: a case study of job discrimination.

This study centres on Tanzania Labour Legislation with particular reference to the Employment Ordinance Cap. 366 of 1958, Security of Employment Act of 1964, National Provident Fund Act (NPF) of 1964, National Social Security Fund Act of 1998 and Pensions Ordinance Cap.291. Reference is also made to the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania 1977 for it is the one from which all our laws got mandate. The inception of these statutes and others with gender gap is believed to have dramatically aggravated discrimination against female employees who have been held on marginalisation yoke even before they could join the labour market. The study therefore seeks to establish that wage women in Tanzania are victims of past and present discrimination manifested in unequal living standards, unequal opportunities for training and retraining, unequal pay for equal work, occupation segregation, unequal promotion opportunities and their vulnerability to retrenchment owing to the underlying hypotheses that inadequacy of Labour Legislation for protection of female employees and discriminatory terms and conditions of service are a loophole for maltreatment of the employees by the employers. The protection policy pertaining to the restrictive conditions against women found in the labour legislation relies on the draconian measures. The study seeks to show that the policy is biased as well as destructive and because it denies women's rights to equal opportunities in employment, the study seeks to show that the policy is potentially unjust. It is hoped that the findings might provide some lessons to the legislature perhaps also to the employers.