WORLD Policy Analysis Center

Does legislation explicitly prohibit discriminatory workplace harassment 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.

Discriminatory harassment includes explicit legislative prohibitions against harassment at the workplace.

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

General prohibition of harassment means that legislation prohibits discriminatory harassment 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 on the basis of marital status broadly protects individuals from workplace discrimination on the basis of marital status, but does not explicitly address workplace harassment. 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 harassment 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 harassment to all workers.

Countries

Afghanistan - No prohibition

Antigua and Barbuda - No prohibition

Bahrain - No prohibition

Bangladesh - No prohibition

Belarus - No prohibition

Benin - No prohibition

Bhutan - No prohibition

Botswana - No prohibition

Brazil - No prohibition

Brunei - No prohibition

Burkina Faso - No prohibition

Cameroon - No prohibition

Central African Republic - No prohibition

Chad - No prohibition

China - No prohibition

Republic of the Congo - No prohibition

Dominica - No prohibition

Dominican Republic - No prohibition

Egypt - No prohibition

Eritrea - No prohibition

Estonia - No prohibition

Ethiopia - No prohibition

Germany - No prohibition

Ghana - No prohibition

Greenland - No prohibition

Iceland - No prohibition

India - No prohibition

Indonesia - No prohibition

Iran - No prohibition

Israel - No prohibition

Jamaica - No prohibition

Japan - No prohibition

Jordan - No prohibition

Kazakhstan - No prohibition

Democratic People's Republic of Korea - No prohibition

Laos - 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

Myanmar - No prohibition

Nauru - No prohibition

Nepal - No prohibition

Niger - No prohibition

Nigeria - No prohibition

Oman - No prohibition

Pakistan - No prohibition

Palau - No prohibition

Papua New Guinea - No prohibition

Paraguay - No prohibition

Qatar - No prohibition

Russian Federation - No prohibition

Rwanda - No prohibition

Saudi Arabia - No prohibition

Senegal - No prohibition

Solomon Islands - No prohibition

Somalia - No prohibition

South Sudan - No prohibition

Sri Lanka - No prohibition

St. Kitts and Nevis - No prohibition

St. Vincent and the Grenadines - No prohibition

Sudan - No prohibition

Sweden - No prohibition

Syria - No prohibition

Thailand - No prohibition

Togo - No prohibition

Tonga - No prohibition

Turkmenistan - No prohibition

Uganda - No prohibition

Vanuatu - No prohibition

Yemen - No prohibition

Zimbabwe - No prohibition

Andorra - General prohibition of harassment

Burundi - General prohibition of harassment

Cambodia - General prohibition of harassment

Cabo Verde - General prohibition of harassment

Colombia - General prohibition of harassment

Comoros - General prohibition of harassment

Cote d'Ivoire - General prohibition of harassment

Cuba - General prohibition of harassment

Djibouti - General prohibition of harassment

Equatorial Guinea - General prohibition of harassment

Finland - General prohibition of harassment

France - General prohibition of harassment

Gabon - General prohibition of harassment

Greece - General prohibition of harassment

Guinea - General prohibition of harassment

Guinea-Bissau - General prohibition of harassment

Hungary - General prohibition of harassment

Iraq - General prohibition of harassment

Latvia - General prohibition of harassment

Malta - General prohibition of harassment

Moldova - General prohibition of harassment

Monaco - General prohibition of harassment

Norway - General prohibition of harassment

Panama - General prohibition of harassment

Poland - General prohibition of harassment

San Marino - General prohibition of harassment

Seychelles - General prohibition of harassment

Singapore - General prohibition of harassment

Slovenia - General prohibition of harassment

Tajikistan - General prohibition of harassment

United Arab Emirates - General prohibition of harassment

Angola - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Armenia - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Azerbaijan - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Bahamas - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Belize - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Canada - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Costa Rica - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

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

Fiji - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

The Gambia - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Grenada - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Guatemala - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Guyana - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Haiti - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Kiribati - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

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

Kuwait - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Lesotho - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Liberia - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Malawi - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Maldives - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Morocco - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Namibia - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

New Zealand - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

The Philippines - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

St. Lucia - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Eswatini - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Trinidad and Tobago - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Tuvalu - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

United Kingdom - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Uzbekistan - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Zambia - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on marital status

Albania - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Algeria - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Argentina - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Australia - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Austria - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Barbados - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Belgium - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Bolivia - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Bulgaria - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Chile - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

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

Croatia - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Cyprus - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Denmark - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Ecuador - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

El Salvador - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Georgia - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Honduras - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Ireland - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Italy - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Kenya - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Kyrgyzstan - 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

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

Mozambique - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

The Netherlands - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Nicaragua - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Peru - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Portugal - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Romania - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Samoa - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Sao Tome and Principe - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Serbia - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Sierra Leone - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Slovakia - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

South Africa - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Spain - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Suriname - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Switzerland - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Tanzania - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Timor-Leste - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Tunisia - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Türkiye - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Ukraine - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

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

Uruguay - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Venezuela - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition

Vietnam - Yes, marital status-specific prohibition