Maternity at Work: A review of national legislation findings from the ILO database of conditions of work and employment laws

This report reviews national legislative provisions for maternity protection in 167 member States with a particular focus on how well countries' provisions conform to the ILO Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183), and its accompanying Recommendation (No. 191). The study found legislation on maternity protection in all of the 167 member States studied and no member State has yet been identified without any legislation. One part of the study covers three key aspects of maternity leave provisions: the duration, the benefit paid and the source of the funding. The second part of the report covers other kinds of leave provision, safeguards on employment, health and safety, and breastfeeding. Apart from maternity leave, access to other kinds of leave provisions, such as paternity leave, parental leave and adoption leave, can also help workers to reconcile work and family life. No ILO standard exists regarding these types of leave, but at least 49 countries provide some form of leave that fathers can use around the birth of a child. A similar number of countries provide some type of parental leave in addition to maternity leave, and many countries make leave available to adoptive parent.