Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, CEDAW, is a treaty codified in 1979. It is one of the most important legally binding instruments for ending all forms of discrimination against women. Unlike declarations and resolutions, this convention is binding upon all states that have signed and ratified it and must be implemented.
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Article 11
1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of employment in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, the same rights, in particular:
- The right to work as an inalienable right of all human beings;
- The right to the same employment opportunities, including the application of the same criteria for selection in matters of employment;
- The right to free choice of profession and employment, the right to promotion, job security and all benefits and conditions of service and the right to receive vocational training and retraining, including apprenticeships, advanced vocational training and recurrent training;
- The right to equal remuneration, including benefits, and to equal treatment in respect of work of equal value, as well as equality of treatment in the evaluation of the quality of work;
- The right to social security, particularly in cases of retirement, unemployment, sickness, invalidity and old age and other incapacity to work, as well as the right to paid leave;
- The right to protection of health and to safety in working conditions, including the safeguarding of the function of reproduction.
2. In order to prevent discrimination against women on the grounds of marriage or maternity and to ensure their effective right to work, States Parties shall take appropriate measures:
- To prohibit, subject to the imposition of sanctions, dismissal on the grounds of pregnancy or of maternity leave and discrimination in dismissals on the basis of marital status;
- To introduce maternity leave with pay or with comparable social benefits without loss of former employment, seniority or social allowances;
- To encourage the provision of the necessary supporting social services to enable parents to combine family obligations with work responsibilities and participation in public life, in particular through promoting the establishment and development of a network of child-care facilities;
- To provide special protection to women during pregnancy in types of work proved to be harmful to them.
3. Protective legislation relating to matters covered in this article shall be reviewed periodically in the light of scientific and technological knowledge and shall be revised, repealed or extended as necessary.
