ILO Report on ‘Care at work’

March 10, 2022

International Labor Organization (ILO) released the report “Care at work: Investing in care leave and services for a more gender-equal world of work” on the occasion of International women’s day (8^th March 2022).

Maternity protection

The report observed that, around the world, 650 million women of reproductive age do not have maternity protection in line with Maternity Protection Convention, 2000.
According to Maternity Protection Convention, 2000, pregnant women should be given a minimum of 14 weeks of paid maternity leave on at least two-thirds of their previous salary.
Of the 185 countries surveyed, 85 countries did not meet the maternity leave provision. According to the report, under the current pace of reform, it would take at least 46 years to achieve minimum maternity rights.

Gender leave gap

There is no paternity leave available to 1.2 billion men of prime reproductive age. In countries where paternity leave is given, it remains short. The report calls this short paternity leave “gender leave gap”.
The report also highlighted how some workers do not get legal protection. They include workers in the informal sector, migrants, adoptive parents, and parents who are (LGBTQI+). The report noted that providing paternity leave would help both parents to balance work and child care responsibilities.

Protection of Pregnant workers

The report noted that only 40 countries provide pregnant or nursing women protection against dangerous work, in line with ILO standards. In only 53 countries there is a right to get paid time off for prenatal medical exams. Many countries lack appropriate facilities for breastfeeding.

The ILO report called for greater investment in care services to create a more gender-equal world of work. These investments will also create around 300 million jobs by 2035.

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