All publications: domestic workers

Gap Analysis and Review of the Domestic Worker Training in Tanzania: Study Report

This report assesses Tanzania’s domestic worker training system, including existing curricula, occupational standards, certification pathways and alignment with labour market needs. It recommends nationally recognised competency based training,...

Policy Brief - Assessment of Domestic Workers Providing Care and Support to Persons with Disabilities in Kenya.png

Domestic work is one of Kenya’s largest informal sectors, employing about two million people, primarily women, and providing essential care for persons with disabilities. Despite their crucial role, domestic workers often face low pay,...

Report

Review of international experience on protecting rights of domestic workers in selected countries

Many domestic workers, mostly women, face low wages, limited protections and workplace risks. This report explores how selected countries safeguard their rights and promote decent work.

Care at home: Projecting Thailand’s need for national and migrant labour for home-based care for older persons

Thailand is ageing. By 2037, one third of the population will be over 60 years of age. This study projects that the need for paid home-based care workers will increase by at least 70 per cent, with up to 250,000 additional paid care workers required...

Survey findings of unpaid care work in Italy. Key messages

This study presents the results of a survey conducted in 2024 by the ILO Office for Italy and San Marino in collaboration with Federcasalinghe, involving approximately 3,000 caregivers. The analysis explores living and working conditions, the...

A theory of change

Decent work for domestic workers through skills development

This theory of change aims to highlight the conditions needed to ensure skills training and recognition improve the working conditions and increase the wages of domestic workers, including in the context of national care policies.

Fair recruitment

Promising practices for fair recruitment in Hong Kong (China): Promoting fair recruitment of domestic workers: Behavioural insights to...

This promising practice presents the findings from a behavioural research study conducted as part of the ILO’s FAIR III project, which aims to promote fair recruitment.In Hong Kong, despite the 2017 Code of Practice for Employment Agencies, unfair...

Brief

Mind the gap: Why women in Pakistan earn less than men and what we can do about it

Despite global efforts, women in Pakistan still earn 25 per cent less per hour than men, with disparities widening for older and lower-income workers. This policy brief highlights key barriers, including discrimination, weak compliance with labour...

TRIANGLE in ASEAN

Care work and labour migration in ASEAN

Thematic background paper for the 17th ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour

TRIANGLE in ASEAN

Enhancing the effectiveness of legal pathways for labour migration in ASEAN

Thematic background paper for the 16th ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour

ILO Policy Brief

Centering reward and representation for domestic workers in the care economy

In June 2024, the ILO’s Member States, employers’ and workers’ organizations adopted the Resolution concerning decent work and the care economy, which, for the first time, demonstrated tripartite and international adoption of the 5R framework, to...

Social protection

Labour rights and social protection coverage for domestic workers in ASEAN

This new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) highlights the critical need to improve labour and social protection for domestic workers across the 10-member Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) region.

Domestic workers

A summary of key findings: Skilled to care, forced to work? Recognizing the skills profiles of migrant domestic workers in ASEAN amid...

The study carried out in 2023 by the International Labour Organization’s TRIANGLE in ASEAN programme funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada...

From Home Village to Metro City: Looking back and ahead at a labour migration corridor for domestic workers in India

This study investigates the migration of women from Ganjam, Odisha to Mumbai for domestic work, examining changes in intermediation processes before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through longitudinal qualitative research, it highlights the...

Placement agencies and migrant live-in domestic workers in an Indian metro city: A view from below into the evolving practices of...

This report examines the role of placement agencies in the migration of live-in domestic workers from Ganjam, Odisha to Mumbai, Maharashtra. Based on fieldwork conducted in Mumbai in the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic, it primarily draws on...

Gendering migration pathways from Bangladesh to Jordan and Lebanon: Before and after the COVID-19 pandemic

This research report offers valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by Bangladeshi migrant workers, particularly, women, before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. It also highlights the unique characteristics of Jordan and...

ILO Policy Brief

From global care crisis to quality care at home: The case for including domestic workers in care policies and ensuring their rights at work...

ILO Policy Brief

From global care crisis to quality care at home: The case for including domestic workers in care policies and ensuring their rights at work

The case for including domestic workers in care policies and ensuring their rights at work.

Social protection

ILO Strategy on extending social protection to migrant workers, refugees and their families

All members of society have the right to social security, including migrant workers, refugees, and their families. However, they face numerous legal and practical obstacles in accessing social protection. Based on the principles of equality of...

Labour inspection practices for domestic work in ASEAN

Promising practices in labour inspection in the context of domestic work in ASEAN

This paper highlights promising practices in labour inspection in the context of domestic work, considering the role of gender-responsive policies in responding to the short- and longer-term impact of the COVID-19 crisis.