Agriculture

The need for cheap, readily available manual labour to cultivate and pick produce means the agricultural sector is especially prone to exploitation of its workers. This tendency is reinforced by the fact that migrants frequently make up much of the agricultural workforce in the global north, meaning that the inherently precarious nature of wage labour and seasonal work is underlined by other power imbalances.

Construction

From housing to infrastructure, construction plays a central role in many national development programmes and is often justified for the jobs, investment and wealth it will supposedly bring to marginalized urban neighbourhoods or rural areas. Yet without proper consultation and a broader commitment to equality, the impacts on communities can be devastating. In some cases, such development can lead to the destruction of heritage, homes and livelihoods.

Education and training

Education and training are central to the realization of equitable work opportunities. For many members of minorities and indigenous peoples, limited access to adequate schooling and a lack of upskilling options later in life can lead to a lifetime of poorly paid, exploitative employment. However, there is also a need for awareness raising within businesses and public agencies to address deep-seated patterns of discrimination that deny some groups the opportunity to improve their prospects.

Extractives and natural resources

Minorities and indigenous peoples have been disproportionately affected by mining, oil production and other extractive industries, especially when these have taken place on their ancestral land without their consent. Alongside the environmental and health implications, the impacts on livelihoods and income generation for local communities are often severe. In some cases, rather than being consulted and compensated for the loss of territory, the inhabitants are themselves displaced to accommodate these activities.

Manufacturing and logistics

Through the increasing globalization of supply chains, labour rights violations have the potential to implicate not only the countries where they occur but governments, businesses and consumers on the other side of the world. Many products, such as clothing, can be manufactured at low cost and in plentiful quantities thanks to the exploitation of underpaid, vulnerable workers (often drawn heavily from minorities, indigenous peoples and other marginalized groups) before being sold elsewhere: in many cases, in places where such practices would be illegal.

Precarious work

For members of minorities, indigenous peoples and migrant populations, work is frequently characterized by the absence of even basic benefits and protections. From wage labourers and street vendors to uncontracted workers in the gig economy, marginalized groups are disproportionately represented in informal employment. For many, this means living in a constant state of insecurity that at a time of crisis — the outbreak of Covid-19, for example — can leave them destitute.

Services

While service workers undertake some of the most important functions for society, their contributions are routinely undervalued – and even more so when these tasks are performed by marginalized groups. From frontline health care to public transport, minorities, indigenous peoples and migrants frequently comprise a large part of the service workforce.

Slavery and its legacy

Slavery is now prohibited across the world, but it still casts a shadow over many communities who historically suffered enslavement. The effects can range from social stigma and labour discrimination to the persistence of servitude in other forms. Transforming this reality requires not only legal reform but also a transformation of societal attitudes that continue to stigmatize the descendants of slaves, generations on.

Tourism

Tourism can offer an important source of livelihood for minority and indigenous communities, providing an opportunity for local people to earn an income through employment in the sector and by providing accommodation, handicrafts and guided tours showcasing their history, heritage and natural environment. Yet all too often, the sector can be exploitative and monopolized by vested interests, causing more harm than good.

Traditional livelihoods

Minorities and indigenous peoples frequently practise specific livelihood activities, such as pastoralist herding, that are threatened by a variety of forces including climate change, environmental destruction, development programmes and displacement.