The International Labour Organization and the gender of work

Eileen Boris and Susan Zimmermann

Chapter 54 in Handbook on Gender in World Politics, 2026, pp 357-363 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter provides a comprehensive historical analysis of the International Labour Organization's (ILO) century-long engagement with gender, tracing its evolution as a pivotal, yet often contradictory, force in shaping global labor policy for women. From its 1919 inception, the ILO defined the male industrial worker as the norm, yet simultaneously created women-specific conventions for maternity protection (C3, 1919), framing women's work through the lens of biological and social difference. The chapter details the persistent tension between this protectionist approach and a parallel push for gender equality, a dynamic that played out across different historical contexts. It examines the ILO's dualistic standards during the colonial era, which recognized the value of reproductive labor in the Global South while ignoring it in the industrialized world. It then traces the influence of Cold War state-socialism on promoting policies for working mothers (R123, 1965) and the later shift towards an equality-focused paradigm, influenced by the UN's broader women's rights agenda.

Keywords: International Labour Organization (ILO); Gender; Reproductive Labor; Equal Remuneration; Global Governance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781803923765
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