A/HRC/44/51 earned by non-Dalit castes. 14 Transgender women experience disproportionate levels of poverty and economic insecurity because of the discrimination they face in accessing employment.15 Young women with disabilities are much more likely to be excluded from education and employment, as compared with both men with disabilities and women without disabilities (E/CN.6/2020/3, paras. 55 and 322). 18. An increasing backlash against and resistance to women’s human rights is also creating new challenges to women’s equal participation in economic life. The growing political influence of conservative forces in some regions has led to regressive policy and legal reforms, such as new restrictions on sexual and reproductive rights and violence against women laws, with significant implications for women’s equal participation in economic life. At the same time, the rise of anti-democratic forces and “strongman politics”, grounded in misogyny and xenophobia, is amplifying discriminatory and patriarchal voices and limiting the scope for feminist action to make progress. Women’s human rights defenders, including labour rights activists, are at increasing risk of harassment, violence and even murder, with perpetrators enjoying impunity (A/HRC/38/46, para. 38). C. The changing world of work: women’s human rights opportunities and challenges 19. In recent years there has been a growing focus on the future of work, with increasing attention to technological change, demographic change, accelerated globalization and the shift to sustainable economies. Important efforts have been made to reorient the future of work as a human-centred agenda that is based on investing in people’s capabilities, institutions of work and decent and sustainable work. 16 At the same time, there has also been further deregulation to enable non-standard forms of work, such as temporary or contract work, or new arrangements such as zero-hour contracts.17 20. Although there have been some attempts to include a gender perspective, what has been missing is a focus on the systemic disadvantage already faced by women in all facets of their life, which places them at greater risk of further discrimination. The following sections identify the major shifts in the world of work and provide an overview of the opportunities for and challenges to women’s human rights. Technological change 21. Technological advances, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, the Internet of things, big data, automation and robotics, are expected to create massive changes across all spheres of life. 22. There are some opportunities to harness technology to advance gender equality and women’s rights to work and at work. The proliferation of digital platforms and other changes associated with the digital revolution may create new possibilities to support women’s employment, including more flexible work arrangements, distance learning and networking, which will better enable them to balance paid work with unpaid care work. 23. ICTs and specifically smartphones, have an important role to play in enhancing the conditions and productivity of work among women in the informal economy by providing access to information and networks, especially in the most insecure and poorly paid forms of informal work. In addition to economic inclusion, ICTs are also increasingly important for collective organizing to strengthen the political voice of women workers. Technological advances have created new spaces for mobilization and connection between women across national borders and interest groups. 14 15 16 17 6 See response of International Dalit Solidarity Network to the questionnaire See response of Lambda Legal to the questionnaire. See www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_663006/lang--en/index.htm. See www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2019.