Resources on maternity protection

  1. Princess Sarah Culberson: Invest in the care economy for a better gender equal world

    11 March 2022

    In celebrating International Women's Week, author, humanitarian and global public speaker, Princess Sarah Culberson of Sierra Leone, joins the ILO to call on countries to invest in the care economy and transformative policies to shape a better future and achieve the SDGs in 2030.

  2. © Unplash 2022
    Over 2 million moms left the labour force in 2020 according to new global estimates

    08 March 2022

    New global data covering 189 countries and territories expose the motherhood penalty faced by millions of women around the world in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  3. © Vitor Marinho 2022
    ILO reaches ratification target for landmark social security Convention

    08 November 2021

    Paraguay has become the 60th country to ratify the flagship ILO social security Convention, No.102, reaching a target set in 2012 by the ILO’s Governing Body.

  4. How to Ask for Maternity or Paternity Leave When Your Company Has No Policy

    15 April 2020

  5. More than 500 billion dollars a year needed to ensure basic levels of social protection worldwide

    26 November 2019

  6. A Century of maternity protection - An unfinished transformation

    08 November 2019

    One of the ILO’s very first Conventions covered maternity protection, but while there is plenty of evidence that maternity protection is good for individuals, societies and economies, there is still a long way to go to ensure that this universal right is a reality.

  7. 100 years of maternity protection

    08 November 2019

    100 years ago, the ILO adopted the first-ever international standard on maternity protection. Since then the definition of maternity protection has expanded and its importance has become more widely appreciated. But, despite this progress, many mothers and mothers-to-be still face serious challenges in the workplace.

  8. The ILO since 1919: Recognizing maternity protections rights

    08 March 2019

    Raising children and working has always been a challenge for women. In 1919 the International Labour Organization passed its first ever Convention on maternity protection, ensuring that women had both the right to work and to bring up a family.

  9. Multinational enterprises and social protection: A case study of the L’Oréal Share & Care Program​

    31 January 2019

    Recognizing the possible beneficial effects for workers and enterprises, many MNEs have undertaken or are currently planning to undertake programs to offer social protection to their employees, going beyond legal obligations. This is a voluntary effort by enterprises that falls under the CSR framework. In this regard, this paper analyses improvement in coverage due to the implementation of such a program, L’Oréal’s Share & Care, and explores the possible effects of the change in a large number of benefits on performance-related indicators. It is also the first attempt to examine the impact of a social program by a company participating in the Global Business Network.

  10. Mobile theatre promotes formal employment in Tajikistan

    06 June 2018

    In the three years since the International Labour Conference adopted Recommendation 204 on the transition from the informal to the formal economy, a global campaign to address the informal economy has gathered momentum. One of the best practices has emerged in the Central Asian Republic of Tajikistan, in an unlikely place. It's a traveling theatre stage, featuring some of the country's top stars, committed to raising awareness about the informal economy and rights at work.