MANUELA TOMEI (interview)
Manuela Tomei: There have been noticeable improvements in maternity protection over the last 15 years and broad recognition that maternity protection matters for both gender equality at work and maternal and newborn health (MDG 4 and 5). We found that all 167 countries monitored by the new “ILO Database of Conditions of Work and Employment Laws” have national legislation on Maternity Protection. 63 ILO member States have adopted at least one of the three ILO maternity protection conventions and 30 per cent fully meet the provisions of Convention No.183, the most recent one. We noticed a shift towards longer leave periods at the time of childbirth. Whilst in 1994, 38 per cent of the countries offered at least 14 weeks of maternity leave, the number rose up to 48 per cent in 2009. The two regions with the greatest number of countries that increased the length of maternity leave over the last 15 years were the Industrialized Economies and the European Union, and the Middle East.
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