WORLD Policy Analysis Center

Does legislation explicitly prohibit discrimination in hiring or recruitment on the basis of pregnancy?

The term “pregnancy” includes references to ‘pregnancy’ or ‘potential pregnancy.’ It does not include job protections that narrowly apply to leave-taking alone.

Hiring or recruitment includes explicit legislative prohibitions against discrimination during pre-employment, or the hiring or recruitment process.

No prohibition means that legislation does not take an explicit approach to prohibiting discrimination in hiring or recruitment on the basis of pregnancy. This does not mean that legislation denies this guarantee.

General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment means that legislation prohibits discrimination in hiring or recruitment generally— for example, by prohibiting discrimination based on “any status” or stating no worker may be discriminated against. This general prohibition is not specifically extended on the basis of pregnancy.

Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on pregnancy means that legislation extends a prohibition of discrimination at the workplace on the basis of pregnancy, but does not explicitly address discrimination in hiring nor recruitment on this basis. These broad prohibitions use language that could extend prohibition of discrimination across any aspect of work.

Yes, pregnancy-based prohibition means that legislation either: a) extends an explicit pregnancy-based prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment, or b) extends a broad prohibition of pregnancy-based workplace discrimination alongside a general prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment to all workers.

Countries

Algeria - No prohibition

Angola - No prohibition

Antigua and Barbuda - No prohibition

Argentina - No prohibition

Austria - No prohibition

Bahamas - No prohibition

Bahrain - No prohibition

Bangladesh - No prohibition

Benin - No prohibition

Botswana - No prohibition

Brunei - No prohibition

Burundi - No prohibition

Cambodia - No prohibition

Cameroon - No prohibition

Canada - No prohibition

Central African Republic - No prohibition

Chad - No prohibition

Colombia - No prohibition

Comoros - No prohibition

Republic of the Congo - No prohibition

Cuba - No prohibition

Djibouti - No prohibition

Dominica - No prohibition

Dominican Republic - No prohibition

Ecuador - No prohibition

Egypt - No prohibition

Equatorial Guinea - No prohibition

Eritrea - No prohibition

Ethiopia - No prohibition

Gabon - No prohibition

The Gambia - No prohibition

Ghana - No prohibition

Greenland - No prohibition

Grenada - No prohibition

Guinea-Bissau - No prohibition

Haiti - No prohibition

India - No prohibition

Indonesia - No prohibition

Iran - No prohibition

Jamaica - No prohibition

Japan - No prohibition

Jordan - No prohibition

Democratic People's Republic of Korea - No prohibition

Kuwait - No prohibition

Laos - No prohibition

Lebanon - No prohibition

Lesotho - No prohibition

Lithuania - No prohibition

Luxembourg - No prohibition

Madagascar - No prohibition

Malawi - No prohibition

Malaysia - No prohibition

Mali - No prohibition

Marshall Islands - No prohibition

Mauritania - No prohibition

Micronesia, Federated States of - No prohibition

Monaco - No prohibition

Morocco - No prohibition

Mozambique - No prohibition

Myanmar - No prohibition

Nauru - No prohibition

Nepal - No prohibition

Nicaragua - No prohibition

Niger - No prohibition

Nigeria - No prohibition

Oman - No prohibition

Pakistan - No prohibition

Palau - No prohibition

Panama - No prohibition

Papua New Guinea - No prohibition

Paraguay - No prohibition

The Philippines - No prohibition

Poland - No prohibition

Qatar - No prohibition

Rwanda - No prohibition

San Marino - No prohibition

Senegal - No prohibition

Seychelles - No prohibition

Sierra Leone - No prohibition

Singapore - No prohibition

Solomon Islands - No prohibition

Somalia - No prohibition

Sri Lanka - No prohibition

St. Kitts and Nevis - No prohibition

St. Vincent and the Grenadines - No prohibition

Sudan - No prohibition

Suriname - No prohibition

Eswatini - No prohibition

Sweden - No prohibition

Thailand - No prohibition

Timor-Leste - No prohibition

Tonga - No prohibition

Trinidad and Tobago - No prohibition

Tunisia - No prohibition

Uganda - No prohibition

Uruguay - No prohibition

Vanuatu - No prohibition

Yemen - No prohibition

Bolivia - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

China - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Georgia - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Guatemala - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Iraq - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Latvia - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Libya - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Peru - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Portugal - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Sao Tome and Principe - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Saudi Arabia - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Syria - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

United Arab Emirates - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Belize - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on pregnancy status

El Salvador - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on pregnancy status

Honduras - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on pregnancy status

Venezuela - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on pregnancy status

Afghanistan - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Albania - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Andorra - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Armenia - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Australia - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Azerbaijan - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Barbados - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Belarus - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Belgium - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Bhutan - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Brazil - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Bulgaria - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Burkina Faso - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Cabo Verde - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Chile - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Democratic Republic of the Congo - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Costa Rica - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Cote d'Ivoire - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Croatia - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Cyprus - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Czech Republic - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Denmark - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Estonia - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Fiji - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Finland - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

France - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Germany - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Greece - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Guinea - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Guyana - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Hungary - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Iceland - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Ireland - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Israel - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Italy - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Kazakhstan - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Kenya - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Kiribati - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Republic of Korea - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Kyrgyzstan - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Liberia - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Liechtenstein - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

North Macedonia - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Maldives - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Malta - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Mauritius - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Mexico - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Moldova - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Mongolia - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Montenegro - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Namibia - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

The Netherlands - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

New Zealand - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Norway - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Romania - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Russian Federation - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Samoa - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Serbia - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Slovakia - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Slovenia - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

South Africa - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

South Sudan - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Spain - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

St. Lucia - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Switzerland - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Tajikistan - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Tanzania - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Togo - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Türkiye - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Turkmenistan - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Tuvalu - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Ukraine - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

United Kingdom - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

United States of America - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Uzbekistan - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Vietnam - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Zambia - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition

Zimbabwe - Yes, pregnancy status-specific prohibition