WORLD Policy Analysis Center

Is job protection guaranteed for mothers throughout paid maternal leave?

Map reflects a systematic review of laws in place as of March 2019.

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

Nauru - No paid maternal leave

Federated States of Micronesia - No paid maternal leave

Papua New Guinea - No paid maternal leave

Palau - No paid maternal leave

Suriname - No paid maternal leave

Marshall Islands - No paid maternal leave

United States of America - No paid maternal leave

Tonga - No paid maternal leave

Sao Tome and Principe - No explicit job protection

Georgia - No explicit job protection

Sierra Leone - 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

Afghanistan - No explicit job protection

United Arab Emirates - No explicit job protection

Bangladesh - No explicit job protection

Mali - No explicit job protection

Algeria - No explicit job protection

Antigua and Barbuda - No explicit job protection

Armenia - Job protection guaranteed during a portion of leave

Maldives - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Panama - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Paraguay - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Peru - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Mexico - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Pakistan - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Poland - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Malaysia - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Malawi - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Portugal - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Qatar - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Romania - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Russian Federation - Job protection guaranteed throughout

The Philippines - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Norway - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Oman - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Mozambique - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Moldova - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Monaco - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Mongolia - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Montenegro - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Mauritius - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Morocco - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Myanmar - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Nigeria - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Namibia - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Mauritania - Job protection guaranteed throughout

The Netherlands - Job protection guaranteed throughout

New Zealand - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Nicaragua - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Malta - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Niger - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Rwanda - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Serbia - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Samoa - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Uganda - 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

Tuvalu - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Ukraine - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Tajikistan - 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

Tanzania - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Syria - 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

Switzerland - 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

Eswatini - Job protection guaranteed throughout

Sweden - 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