WORLD Policy Analysis Center

Does legislation explicitly prohibit discriminatory workplace harassment on the basis of maternal status?

The term “maternal status” includes gender-neutral references to caregiving (‘parenthood’, ‘having children’, workers with ‘family responsibilities’), and gender specific references to ‘motherhood’ or ‘maternity.’ For the purposes of this variable, the term “maternal status” captures all of these definitions, but it does not capture job protections that narrowly apply to mothers’ leave-taking alone.

No prohibition means that legislation does not take an explicit approach to prohibiting discriminatory harassment on the basis of maternal status. This does not mean that legislation denies this guarantee.

General prohibition of harassment means that legislation prohibits discriminatory harassment 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 maternal status.

Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination on the basis of maternal status means that legislation broadly protects individuals from workplace discrimination on the basis of maternal status, but does not explicitly address workplace harassment. These broad prohibitions use language that could extend prohibition of discrimination across any aspect of work.

Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition means that legislation either extends: a) an explicit prohibition of discriminatory harassment on the basis of maternal status, or b) extends a broad prohibition of workplace discrimination on the basis of maternal status alongside a general prohibition of discriminatory workplace harassment to all workers.

Countries

Afghanistan - No prohibition

Angola - No prohibition

Antigua and Barbuda - No prohibition

Azerbaijan - No prohibition

Bahamas - No prohibition

Bahrain - No prohibition

Bangladesh - No prohibition

Belarus - No prohibition

Benin - No prohibition

Bhutan - No prohibition

Botswana - No prohibition

Brazil - No prohibition

Brunei - No prohibition

Burkina Faso - No prohibition

Cameroon - No prohibition

Central African Republic - No prohibition

Chad - No prohibition

China - No prohibition

Republic of the Congo - No prohibition

Costa Rica - No prohibition

Cuba - No prohibition

Dominica - No prohibition

Dominican Republic - No prohibition

Egypt - No prohibition

Equatorial Guinea - No prohibition

Eritrea - No prohibition

Ethiopia - No prohibition

Ghana - No prohibition

Greenland - No prohibition

Haiti - No prohibition

Iceland - No prohibition

India - No prohibition

Indonesia - No prohibition

Iran - No prohibition

Israel - No prohibition

Jamaica - No prohibition

Japan - No prohibition

Jordan - No prohibition

Kazakhstan - No prohibition

Kenya - No prohibition

Democratic People's Republic of Korea - No prohibition

Republic of Korea - No prohibition

Kuwait - No prohibition

Laos - No prohibition

Lebanon - No prohibition

Lesotho - No prohibition

Libya - No prohibition

Madagascar - No prohibition

Malaysia - No prohibition

Mali - No prohibition

Marshall Islands - No prohibition

Mauritania - No prohibition

Micronesia, Federated States of - No prohibition

Morocco - No prohibition

Myanmar - No prohibition

Nauru - No prohibition

Nepal - 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

Qatar - No prohibition

Rwanda - No prohibition

Saudi Arabia - No prohibition

Senegal - No prohibition

Sierra Leone - No prohibition

Solomon Islands - No prohibition

Somalia - No prohibition

South Sudan - 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

Syria - No prohibition

Tajikistan - No prohibition

Thailand - No prohibition

Tonga - No prohibition

Trinidad and Tobago - No prohibition

Tunisia - No prohibition

Türkiye - No prohibition

Turkmenistan - No prohibition

Uganda - No prohibition

United Arab Emirates - No prohibition

United States of America - No prohibition

Uruguay - No prohibition

Vanuatu - No prohibition

Yemen - No prohibition

Zimbabwe - No prohibition

Algeria - General prohibition of harassment

Bolivia - General prohibition of harassment

Burundi - General prohibition of harassment

Cambodia - General prohibition of harassment

Cabo Verde - General prohibition of harassment

Colombia - General prohibition of harassment

Comoros - General prohibition of harassment

Cote d'Ivoire - General prohibition of harassment

Djibouti - General prohibition of harassment

Ecuador - General prohibition of harassment

El Salvador - General prohibition of harassment

Gabon - General prohibition of harassment

Georgia - General prohibition of harassment

Guinea - General prohibition of harassment

Iraq - General prohibition of harassment

Malta - General prohibition of harassment

Monaco - General prohibition of harassment

Mozambique - General prohibition of harassment

Peru - General prohibition of harassment

Poland - General prohibition of harassment

San Marino - General prohibition of harassment

Seychelles - General prohibition of harassment

Singapore - General prohibition of harassment

Timor-Leste - General prohibition of harassment

Venezuela - General prohibition of harassment

Armenia - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on maternal status

Belize - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on maternal status

Fiji - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on maternal status

The Gambia - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on maternal status

Grenada - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on maternal status

Guatemala - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on maternal status

Guinea-Bissau - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on maternal status

Guyana - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on maternal status

Kiribati - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on maternal status

Liberia - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on maternal status

Malawi - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on maternal status

Maldives - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on maternal status

Mongolia - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on maternal status

Namibia - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on maternal status

New Zealand - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on maternal status

Russian Federation - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on maternal status

Samoa - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on maternal status

St. Lucia - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on maternal status

Togo - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on maternal status

Tuvalu - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on maternal status

Ukraine - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on maternal status

United Kingdom - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on maternal status

Uzbekistan - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on maternal status

Zambia - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on maternal status

Albania - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Andorra - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Argentina - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Australia - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Austria - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Barbados - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Belgium - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Bulgaria - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Canada - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Chile - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

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

Croatia - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Cyprus - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Czech Republic - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Denmark - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Estonia - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Finland - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

France - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Germany - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Greece - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Honduras - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Hungary - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Ireland - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Italy - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Kyrgyzstan - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Latvia - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Liechtenstein - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Lithuania - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Luxembourg - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

North Macedonia - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Mauritius - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Mexico - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Moldova - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Montenegro - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

The Netherlands - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Nicaragua - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Norway - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Portugal - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Romania - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Sao Tome and Principe - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Serbia - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Slovakia - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Slovenia - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

South Africa - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Spain - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Switzerland - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Tanzania - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition

Vietnam - Yes, maternal status-specific prohibition