With respect to family responsibilities, households in the Arab States have responded to the lack of adequate social care services by recruiting foreign domestic workers. At present there are an estimated 2.1 million female migrant domestic workers in the region. Given that gender roles have still changed little in the Arab States, women remain the main caregivers. Thus households that cannot afford to hire migrant workers typically rely on women of the family do conduct the majority of domestic work.

Women migrant domestic workers typically bear the brunt of multiple-layered discrimination in the Arab States. Accordingly, it is ever more important for the region to work on the principles the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No.189) which recently came into force. Some national counterparts, particularly in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, have also expressed interest in promoting home work for women which also necessitates the promotion of rights in line with the Home Work Convention, 1996 (No. 177).

To address the issue of domestic workers, the ILO has developed a methodology that includes the following activities:

• Drafting situation assessments, institutional mappings and policy briefs;
• conducting policy awareness workshops;
• forming national advisory committees;
• training labour inspectors;
• advising labour ministries on hotline development;
• developing standard unified contracts and information guides for migrant domestic workers (in 12 languages);
• drafting Frequently Asked Questions sheets;
• producing documentary films; and
• assisting tripartite partners in the drafting of decrees and laws specific to domestic workers.

For more information on decent work for domestic workers visit the Domestic Workers in the Arab States page.