All ILO Voices stories
ILO Voices | Forced labour
A future with hope, free from bonded labour
Padma Kumari Tamata was born into a bonded labour family, in which debts are passed from one generation to the other. Her life has turned around following ILO-supported skills training in Nepal that aims to rehabilitate former victims of forced...
ILO Voices | Domestic workers
A vision for domestic workers
Mendy Lerato Lusaba, founder of the Domestic Workers Association of Zimbabwe and winner of the ILO Skills Innovation Challenge, has big plans to improve the life of domestic workers in her country.
ILO Voices | Agriculture
5 ways governments can support agriculture insurance
Agriculture provides jobs to 1.3 billion people, which is close to 40 per cent of global employment, most of them working poor. Agricultural insurance can play an important role in securing farmers’ livelihoods and boosting the efficiency of the...
ILO Voices | Equality and diversity
Diversity is the best ingredient
The Argentinian celebrity chef, Paola Carosella, explains why she joined the ILO’s “Kitchen and Voice” project, which helps marginalized and vulnerable people in Brazil find work in the hospitality sector.
ILO Voices | Child labour
A song to let children fly
Sri Lankan music star Ridma Weerawardena talks about his hit song "Let them fly" and why he decided to join the fight against child labour.
ILO Voices | Child labour
Child labour in Myanmar’s jade mines is a deadly gamble
Min Min is 13 and scavenges for scraps of jade stone in northern Myanmar, “the land of jade”. It’s a hazardous undertaking. In 2020 nearly 200 people died from a mudslide at a nearby mining site.
ILO Voices | Employment creation
Bees – A remedy for business success
Viorica Anghel transformed her life when she signed up for a beekeeper’s course run by the ILO in Moldova. She now runs her own business and uses the honey for medicinal purposes to treat her son.
ILO Voices | Livelihoods for refugees
A refugee mother determined to provide despite COVID-19
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, workers' hours were reduced at the farm in Jordan where Syrian refugee Fatima Hussein Al Ahmad lives and works. Resourceful and determined, she found alternative ways to earn money to buy milk for her baby...
ILO Voices | Forced labour
Labour, freedom and happiness: The great driving forces of antiquity
Rodrigo Mogrovejo works for the ILO in Mexico where he deals with contemporary labour standards. His hobby is the study of ancient history, where he sees great relevance to the issues he deals with daily at work.
ILO Voices | Gender equality
Five steps to help women entrepreneurs cross the business gender divide
Women entrepreneurs tend to be stuck at the lower end of the business value chain, while their male counterparts make more profits at the high end. The ILO has developed a five step model to help women cross the business gender divide.
ILO Voices | Social protection
How to finance social protection in the age of COVID-19
It’s possible for developing countries to finance social protection for all their citizens, both in times of crisis and beyond, says development economist Jayati Ghosh.
ILO Voices | Small enterprises
Which policies can help small businesses withstand COVID-19
Small and medium-sized enterprises and their employees are an essential part of the social and economic fabric of daily life worldwide. This vital role is now under threat from the unprecedented effects of COVID-19.
ILO Voices | Youth employment
Young workers will be hit hard by COVID-19’s economic fallout
The COVID-19 emergency is affecting almost everyone in the world, regardless of age, income or country. However, young people are likely to be particularly hard hit by the economic fallout of the crisis. Find out five reasons why.