ILO Global Care Policy Portal

The knowledge platform on country-level care policies

Welcome

This portal is a knowledge hub on legal and statistical indicators on national care leave policies and services to advance the ILO transformative agenda for gender equality and non-discrimination.

The portal presents over 60 legal and statistical indicators on maternity protection, paternity leave, parental leave and other care leave and non-discrimination policies, as well as childcare and long-term care services in more than 180 countries. Legal data are available for selected years since 1994.

It uses international labour standards – the Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183), the Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156) and their accompanying Recommendations Nos. 165 and 191 – as benchmarks.

The portal offers additional online tools to help design and implement integrated and coherent care policies. The Care Policy Investment Simulator, a user-friendly online tool aimed to support governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations, researcher institutions, practitioners and other development partners to make simulations on how to close care policy gaps and reap the multiple benefits of investing in the care economy. The South-4-Care Platform, a dedicated space to discover and share illustrative examples of how countries and ILO constituents are implementing the ILO Resolution concerning decent work and the care economy. Finally, the Care Policy E-Library, a guide-to source for research and guidance.

Tutorial videoTutorial video: ILO Global Care Policy portal and investment simulator

Country-level care policies

Navigate and analyse care leave policies and services by topicand by country, through interactive world maps, tables and a country details page. Compare care policies between years and narrow the search with filters.

  • The world map offers an immediate overview of several parameters related to care leave policies and services for 11 different topics. Hover over the countries to obtain more detailed information, narrow the search to certain regions using the drop-down list or choose a different year for analysis. Any selection or filter in the map will be reflected in the table underneath the map.
  • The table lists all countries and provides values for the chosen year and parameter. The table reflects any filter selected in the world map above, to allow a more detailed view by category or region.
  • The country details page shows all the care policies by year and country. Additionally, the user can download a pdf file with the corresponding information.
The ILO Global Care Policy Portal offers over 60 legal and statistical indicators on care leave policies and services for more than 180 countries since 1994.
Maternity leaveMaternity leave98 out of 185 countries have maternity leave laws providing adequate benefits in line with ILO Convention 183.
Paternity leavePaternity leave115 out of 185 countries offered paternity leave in 2021, and in 81 it was fully paid.
Parental leaveParental leave68 out of 185 countries provide parental leave rights, and 46 offer paid parental leave.
Gender gap in childcare-related paid leaveGender gap in childcare-related paid leave103 out of 185 countries have a gap that is at least 3 months.
Long-term care leaveLong-term care leave55 countries have a statutory right to long-term care leave. Only 2 in 10 adults globally live in these countries.
Emergency leaveEmergency leave127 out of 183 countries have a statutory right to emergency leave. This means that 6 in 10 adults globally live in countries where there is emergency leave.
Health protection for pregnant and nursing womenHealth protection for pregnant and nursing women1 in 10 potential mothers live in countries where there is a statutory right to protect them against dangerous or unhealthy work, as mandated by ILO standards on maternity protection.
Breastfeeding at workBreastfeeding at work138 countries provide a statutory right to time and income security for breastfeeding.
Childcare servicesChildcare services21 countries grant a universal childcare system in their laws for children aged 0–2 years. While 63 countries grant a universal pre-primary education system as statutory right for children 3 years and above.
Long-term care servicesLong-term care services29 countries have set up a statutory universal and free long-term care service scheme.
Childcare policy gapChildcare policy gapIn 91 out of 175 countries, the childcare policy gap is more than 5 years, with 51.1 per cent of potential parents (1.9 billion) living in these countries.

Care Policy Investment Simulator

The ILO Care Policy Investment Simulator helps building tailor-made care policy investment packages of 4 care policies:

  • childcare-related paid leave (maternity, paternity and parental leave);
  • breastfeeding breaks;
  • early childhood care and education services;
  • long-term care services.

Results of country simulations include:

  • public investment requirements;
  • job generation;
  • reduction in gender employment gaps;
  • reduction in gender earning gaps;
  • return on investments.

How it works

  • Step 1: Register for free access to the Simulator.
  • Step 2: Choose a country and the projection year (2030 or 2035).
  • Step 3: Define the policy inputs for the 4 care policy areas, by keeping the suggested parameters or changing them according to a list of predetermined options.
  • Step 4: The Simulator calculates the results automatically, drawing directly on more than 180 embedded statistical indicators. Create and compare multiple scenarios for the same or different countries and export the results.
The ILO Care Policy Investment Simulator calculates the investment requirements and the employment and gender equality benefits for 118 countries in 4 care policy areas. It builds on over 180 statistical indicators.

South-4-Care (S4C) Platform

The South-4-Care Platform is a space to discover and share illustrative practices that show how countries and ILO constituents are implementing integrated and coherent care policies and systems for decent work and gender equality. Through the interactive functions, users can explore inspiring initiatives at global, regional, national and local levels, in workplaces and communities. By fostering knowledge exchange, peer learning, and innovation, it supports collective action to strengthen decent work and the care economy worldwide. The practices showcased are drawn from a comprehensive questionnaire aligned with the Resolution concerning decent work and the care economy, with contributions from ILO Departments, Field Offices and constituents. The Platform is continuously updated and expanded to reflect ongoing progress.

Interactive dashboard:

  • The filters and summary visualizations provide some metrics on the initiatives and allow users to filter and carry out a more detailed search.
  • The world map highlights the countries with illustrative practices based on the filters selected. Hover over the countries to obtain the list of illustrative practices for further analysis.
  • The table lists all illustrative practices and provides additional information on the country, the region, start and end year, the leading entity or organization, the type of initiative, the policy area based on the 5R Framework for Decent Care Work, and the main beneficiaries of the practice. Click on the initiative name to access the profile for more details.

Illustrative practices profiles including:

  • Key facts about the practice;
  • Images or videos, when available, showcasing the initiative in action; and
  • Links to resources and other tools, including policy documents, toolkits, or training materials for deeper engagement.

ILO Care Policy E-Library

The E-library of the ILO Global Care Policy Portal is a virtual library that contains global reports, technical notes, as well as regional and country briefs prepared using data of the Portal and the Investment Simulator.

  • Global reports and briefs section: showcases the Care at work report as well as other ILO technical notes and global briefs.
  • Regional and country reports and briefs section: displays ILO regional and country briefs. The user can filter and order the briefs in the table based on document type, region, country, year of publication and language.

How to cite the Portal and the Investment Simulator

International Labour Organization (n.d.). ILO Global Care Policy Portal.

International Labour Organization (n.d.). ILO Care Policy Investment Simulator.

For Latin America and the Caribbean countries, please cite: International Labour Organization and Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (n.d.). ILO Care Policy Investment Simulator.

The S4C Platform documents practical experiences and innovative solutions to foster South-South cooperation, in line with the ILO Resolution concerning decent work and the care economy.

Acknowledgments

This Portal is a project of the International Labour Organization (ILO) with the support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the Gates Foundation. Its contents do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of these partners.

The ILO Care Policy Investment Simulator was expanded and validated in 2023 in collaboration with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) for the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Gender, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Branch (GEDI) of the Conditions of Work and Equality Department led the project, which relies on regular updates and the data published in the report ILO 2022. Care at work: Investing in care leave and services for a more gender equal world of work. The IT application development and hosting are managed by ILO Information and Technology Management Department (INFOTEC). The methodology and pilot-testing of the various ILO Global Care Policy Portal tools benefited from extensive consultations with technical and academic experts, constituents, UN agencies and other partners working on promoting investments in the care economy.

Laura Addati, Lorena Pastor Palacios, Mia Touma, Umberto Cattaneo and Jerome De Henau, conceptualized and developed the underlying framework, data sets and calculations of the ILO Care Policy Investment Simulator. The Simulator is based on a methodology published in De Henau 2022. Costs and benefits of investing in transformative care policy packages: A macrosimulation study in 82 countries (ilo.org). The ILO Care Policy Investment Simulator was expanded and validated in 2023 in collaboration with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) for the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

For more publications and resources

ILO Care economy portal: The care economy (ilo.org)

ILO Gender Equality portal: Gender equality (Equality and discrimination) (ilo.org)

Contact us

Enjoy browsing, and for questions, suggestions, corrections or to propose new illustrative practices for the South-4-Care (S4C) Platform , please contact: [email protected].

Find more details in the ILO Care Policy E-Library, including the Care Policy Investment Simulator Technical Note, and watch the tutorial video for more information
Technical Note