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Is job protection guaranteed for mothers throughout paid maternal leave?
Map reflects a systematic review of laws in place as of January 2020.
Paid leave for mothers includes both paid maternity leave, which is leave reserved for mothers of infants, and paid parental leave, which is leave available to either parent of an infant that can be taken by women.
Job protection
can take the form of explicit legislative prohibitions of discriminatory dismissal during maternal leave, guarantees to the same or equal position upon return from leave, or the prohibition of dismissals for mothers of young children (under age 3).
No explicit job protection
means that mothers are guaranteed paid leave but legislation does not include an explicit form of job protection.
Job protection guaranteed during a portion of leave
means that while job protection is guaranteed for part of the full length of leave available to mothers, it’s not available for the full entitlement. This only occurs in countries where there are multiple types of leave available—and job protection is not guaranteed for all forms of leave.
Job protection guaranteed throughout
means legislation explicitly guarantees job protection for the full duration of leave available to mothers.
Countries
Federated States of Micronesia
- No paid maternal leave
Nauru
- No paid maternal leave
Palau
- No paid maternal leave
Papua New Guinea
- No paid maternal leave
Tonga
- No paid maternal leave
Marshall Islands
- No paid maternal leave
United States of America
- No paid maternal leave
United Arab Emirates
- No explicit job protection
Guinea-Bissau
- No explicit job protection
Republic of the Congo
- No explicit job protection
Nepal
- No explicit job protection
Ethiopia
- No explicit job protection
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
- No explicit job protection
Georgia
- No explicit job protection
Afghanistan
- No explicit job protection
Sierra Leone
- No explicit job protection
Bangladesh
- No explicit job protection
Algeria
- No explicit job protection
Sao Tome and Principe
- No explicit job protection
Antigua and Barbuda
- No explicit job protection
Mali
- No explicit job protection
Armenia
- Job protection guaranteed during a portion of leave
Peru
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Paraguay
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Qatar
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
The Philippines
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Panama
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Romania
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Poland
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Russian Federation
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Portugal
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Norway
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Pakistan
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Oman
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Namibia
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Nigeria
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Moldova
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Malawi
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Malaysia
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Maldives
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Malta
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Mauritania
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Mauritius
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Mexico
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Monaco
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Niger
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Mongolia
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Montenegro
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Morocco
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Mozambique
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Myanmar
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
The Netherlands
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
New Zealand
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Nicaragua
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Rwanda
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Serbia
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Samoa
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Tuvalu
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Tanzania
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Thailand
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Timor-Leste
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Togo
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Trinidad and Tobago
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Tunisia
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Turkey
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Turkmenistan
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Uganda
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Syria
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Ukraine
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
United Kingdom
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Uruguay
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Uzbekistan
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Vanuatu
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Venezuela
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Vietnam
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Yemen
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Zambia
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Tajikistan
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Switzerland
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
San Marino
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Somalia
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Saudi Arabia
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Senegal
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
North Macedonia
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Singapore
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Slovakia
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Slovenia
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Solomon Islands
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
South Africa
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Sweden
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
South Sudan
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Spain
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Sri Lanka
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
St. Kitts and Nevis
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
St. Lucia
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Sudan
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Suriname
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Eswatini
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Madagascar
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Liberia
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Luxembourg
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Comoros
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Cameroon
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Canada
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Cabo Verde
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Central African Republic
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Chad
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Chile
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
China
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Colombia
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Burundi
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Costa Rica
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Cote d'Ivoire
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Croatia
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Cuba
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Cyprus
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Czech Republic
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Denmark
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Djibouti
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Dominica
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Cambodia
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Burkina Faso
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Ecuador
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Barbados
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Andorra
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Angola
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Argentina
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Australia
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Austria
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Azerbaijan
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Bahamas
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Bahrain
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Belarus
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Bulgaria
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Belgium
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Belize
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Benin
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Bhutan
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Bolivia
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Botswana
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Brazil
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Brunei
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Dominican Republic
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Egypt
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Lithuania
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Kiribati
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Ireland
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Israel
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Italy
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Jamaica
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Japan
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Jordan
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Kazakhstan
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Kenya
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Republic of Korea
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Iran
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Kuwait
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Kyrgyzstan
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Laos
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Latvia
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Lebanon
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Lesotho
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Albania
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Libya
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Liechtenstein
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Iraq
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Indonesia
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
El Salvador
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Ghana
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Equatorial Guinea
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Eritrea
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Estonia
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Fiji
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Finland
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
France
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Gabon
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
The Gambia
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Germany
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Greece
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
India
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Greenland
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Grenada
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Guatemala
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Guinea
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Guyana
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Haiti
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Honduras
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Hungary
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Iceland
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
Zimbabwe
- Job protection guaranteed throughout
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