Summary

Addressing social protection gaps for domestic workers
It is estimated that the majority of domestic workers worldwide are excluded from social security or, if covered, they only receive a lower level of protection compared to other workers (ILO 2016c). Coupled with low wages, insecure employment, and poor working conditions, this exclusion has detrimental consequences for these domestic workers – most of whom are women – both in the short term and in the long term, as seen during the COVID-19 crisis (ILO 2020; 2021b). As a result, many domestic workers are practically excluded from accessing healthcare as well as effective access to income security in case of maternity, workplace accidents, unemployment, or old age, which poses an additional source of vulnerability for them and their families. Moreover, 17 percent of domestic workers are migrant workers, the majority of whom are excluded from social protection both in their host country and in their country of destination (ILO 2015c; 2016b).