WORLD Policy Analysis Center

Does legislation explicitly prohibit discrimination in terminations on the basis of marital status?

The term “marital status” includes references to ‘civil status’, ‘married’, ‘relationship status’, ‘personal status,” or whether employees have a husband or wife.

Because caregiving discrimination disproportionately affects women and can begin with the assumption that married women will have children, this variable also includes gendered terminology that reference’s women’s marital status alone.

Terminations includes explicit legislative prohibitions against discriminatory terminations or dismissals from the workplace, or guarantees of continuance of employment.

No prohibition means that legislation does not take an explicit approach to prohibiting discrimination in terminations on the basis of marital status. This does not mean that legislation denies this guarantee.

General prohibition of discrimination in terminations means that legislation prohibits discrimination in terminations 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 marital status.

Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status means that legislation extends a prohibition of discrimination at the workplace on the basis of marital status, but does not explicitly address terminations. These broad prohibitions use language that could extend prohibition of discrimination across any aspect of work.

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

Countries

Afghanistan - No prohibition

Antigua and Barbuda - No prohibition

Bangladesh - No prohibition

Belarus - No prohibition

Benin - No prohibition

Brunei - No prohibition

Burundi - No prohibition

Cambodia - No prohibition

Cameroon - No prohibition

Central African Republic - No prohibition

Chad - No prohibition

Colombia - No prohibition

Republic of the Congo - No prohibition

Cote d'Ivoire - No prohibition

Djibouti - No prohibition

Dominican Republic - No prohibition

Egypt - No prohibition

Equatorial Guinea - No prohibition

Estonia - No prohibition

Finland - No prohibition

France - No prohibition

Germany - No prohibition

Ghana - No prohibition

Greece - No prohibition

Greenland - No prohibition

Guinea - No prohibition

Iceland - No prohibition

India - No prohibition

Iran - No prohibition

Iraq - No prohibition

Jamaica - No prohibition

Jordan - No prohibition

Kazakhstan - No prohibition

Democratic People's Republic of Korea - No prohibition

Lebanon - No prohibition

Libya - No prohibition

Madagascar - No prohibition

Malaysia - No prohibition

Mali - No prohibition

Mauritania - No prohibition

Micronesia, Federated States of - No prohibition

Monaco - No prohibition

Myanmar - No prohibition

Nauru - No prohibition

Nepal - No prohibition

Nigeria - No prohibition

Norway - No prohibition

Oman - No prohibition

Pakistan - No prohibition

Palau - No prohibition

Panama - No prohibition

Papua New Guinea - No prohibition

Paraguay - No prohibition

Poland - No prohibition

Russian Federation - No prohibition

Rwanda - No prohibition

San Marino - No prohibition

Saudi Arabia - No prohibition

Senegal - No prohibition

Seychelles - No prohibition

Singapore - No prohibition

Solomon Islands - No prohibition

Somalia - No prohibition

Sri Lanka - No prohibition

Sudan - No prohibition

Sweden - No prohibition

Thailand - No prohibition

Togo - No prohibition

Tonga - No prohibition

United Arab Emirates - No prohibition

Vanuatu - No prohibition

Yemen - No prohibition

Zimbabwe - No prohibition

Andorra - General prohibition of discrimination in terminations

Cabo Verde - General prohibition of discrimination in terminations

Cuba - General prohibition of discrimination in terminations

Gabon - General prohibition of discrimination in terminations

Guinea-Bissau - General prohibition of discrimination in terminations

Hungary - General prohibition of discrimination in terminations

Latvia - General prohibition of discrimination in terminations

Moldova - General prohibition of discrimination in terminations

Turkmenistan - General prohibition of discrimination in terminations

Algeria - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Bolivia - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Canada - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Croatia - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Czech Republic - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

El Salvador - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Guatemala - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Honduras - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Kuwait - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Mozambique - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Sao Tome and Principe - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Sierra Leone - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Albania - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Angola - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Argentina - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Armenia - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Australia - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Austria - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Azerbaijan - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Bahamas - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Bahrain - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Barbados - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Belgium - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Belize - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Bhutan - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Botswana - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Brazil - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Bulgaria - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Burkina Faso - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Chile - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

China - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Comoros - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

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

Costa Rica - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Cyprus - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Denmark - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Dominica - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Ecuador - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Eritrea - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Ethiopia - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Fiji - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

The Gambia - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Georgia - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Grenada - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Guyana - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Haiti - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Indonesia - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Ireland - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Israel - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Italy - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Japan - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Kenya - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Kiribati - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Republic of Korea - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Kyrgyzstan - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Laos - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Lesotho - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Liberia - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Liechtenstein - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Lithuania - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Luxembourg - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

North Macedonia - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Malawi - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Maldives - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Malta - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Marshall Islands - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Mauritius - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Mexico - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Mongolia - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Montenegro - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Morocco - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Namibia - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

The Netherlands - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

New Zealand - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Nicaragua - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Niger - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Peru - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

The Philippines - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Portugal - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Qatar - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Romania - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Samoa - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Serbia - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Slovakia - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Slovenia - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

South Africa - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

South Sudan - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Spain - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

St. Kitts and Nevis - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

St. Lucia - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

St. Vincent and the Grenadines - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Suriname - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Eswatini - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Switzerland - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Syria - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Tajikistan - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Tanzania - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Timor-Leste - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Trinidad and Tobago - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Tunisia - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Türkiye - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Tuvalu - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Uganda - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Ukraine - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

United Kingdom - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

United States of America - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Uruguay - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Uzbekistan - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Venezuela - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Vietnam - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Zambia - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition