CEDAW/C/PHI/5-6 415. On 17 January 1998, the Philippines hosted the launching of the Global March Against Child Labor. Child laborers, trade unionists, representatives from church groups, government and NGOs joined the Global March to mobilize worldwide efforts to promote the rights of children, including the right to be free from economic exploitation and from performing any work that damages the child’s physical, spiritual, mental, moral and social development. D. REMAINING ISSUES AND CHALLENGES Globalization and economic liberalization 416. Despite the interventions to address women workers’ issues in various fields, there are challenges that require serious attention. 417. While some sectors may have benefited from economic and trade liberalization policies, the policies have eroded women’s economic situation and status, as companies increasingly resort to flexible labor arrangements (by reducing the core of permanent workers and increasing temporary and casual employees, part-time or home-work arrangements) to stay globally competitive. Flexible employment is usually beyond the reach of labor legislation and social protection. Displaced women workers who join the informal sector have to make do with stagnant wages or returns to labor while prices increase. Incorporating gender into the scope of economic inquiry and analysis of economic policies can bridge or level opportunities for both sexes in an economic setting, as this means taking into account how these policies affect the gender wage gap, job security, and the quality of jobs of women and men. 418. To minimize the negative impacts of globalization on women, more social protection measures must be provided for women workers. Increasing access to social insurance benefits and legal protection to women in various types of informal activities should be prioritized. To bring this about may involve considering alternative social insurance schemes, and supporting social groups that are able to provide the necessary framework of social solidarity and mutual insurance and protection. Group-based strategies for mobilizing internal savings and credit services should also be considered. 419. Women in small and medium enterprises need safety nets, as they face stiff competition from cheap products from other countries. Like other local industries, they require reasonable protection to shield them from too cheap imported goods and services. 420. Overseas labor migration continues to pose dangers, particularly to women workers. Initiatives to forge bilateral and multilateral agreements with receiving countries should be treated as short or medium-term measures, since the long-term solution to labor migration problems lies in the creation of sustainable local employment for its female and male citizens. Dollar remittances of overseas migrant workers should be invested in the development of viable and globally competitive industrial and agricultural enterprises that will generate jobs in the country, ensure food security and boost the country’s financial capacity to provide adequate social services. 421. Gendered impacts of globalization, as reflected, for instance in economic liberalization policies, should be investigated systematically. This requires disaggregating by sex, sector and subsector, employment data, wages, hours worked and nature of work (part-time, full-time; time114