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

Antigua and Barbuda - No prohibition

Argentina - 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

Comoros - No prohibition

Republic of the Congo - No prohibition

Djibouti - No prohibition

Dominica - No prohibition

Dominican Republic - No prohibition

Egypt - No prohibition

Equatorial Guinea - No prohibition

Eritrea - No prohibition

Ethiopia - 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

Laos - No prohibition

Lebanon - No prohibition

Lesotho - No prohibition

Luxembourg - No prohibition

Madagascar - 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

Seychelles - 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

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

United Arab Emirates - No prohibition

Uruguay - No prohibition

Vanuatu - No prohibition

Yemen - No prohibition

Angola - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Bolivia - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

China - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Cuba - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Ecuador - 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

Lithuania - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Malawi - 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

Austria - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on pregnancy

Belize - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on pregnancy

El Salvador - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on pregnancy

Honduras - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on pregnancy

Kuwait - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on pregnancy

Mongolia - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on pregnancy

Sierra Leone - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on pregnancy

Venezuela - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on pregnancy

Albania - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Andorra - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Armenia - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Australia - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Azerbaijan - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Barbados - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Belarus - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Belgium - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Bhutan - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Brazil - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Bulgaria - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Burkina Faso - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Cabo Verde - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Chile - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Colombia - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

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

Costa Rica - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Cote d'Ivoire - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Croatia - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Cyprus - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Czech Republic - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Denmark - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Estonia - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Fiji - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Finland - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

France - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Gabon - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Germany - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Greece - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Guinea - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Guyana - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Hungary - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Iceland - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Ireland - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Israel - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Italy - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Kazakhstan - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Kenya - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Kiribati - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Republic of Korea - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Kyrgyzstan - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Liberia - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Liechtenstein - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

North Macedonia - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Maldives - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Malta - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Mauritius - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Mexico - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Moldova - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Montenegro - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Namibia - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

The Netherlands - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

New Zealand - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Norway - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Romania - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Russian Federation - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Samoa - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Senegal - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Serbia - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Slovakia - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Slovenia - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

South Africa - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

South Sudan - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Spain - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

St. Lucia - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Suriname - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Switzerland - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Tajikistan - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Tanzania - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Togo - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Türkiye - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Turkmenistan - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Tuvalu - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Ukraine - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

United Kingdom - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

United States of America - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Uzbekistan - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Vietnam - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Zambia - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition

Zimbabwe - Yes, pregnancy-specific prohibition