ILO

Sandy Lyen is a 20-something artisan woodworker and entrepreneur from Beirut, Lebanon. Like many young, educated Lebanese women today, Sandy is creating new and innovative opportunities for self-employment by tapping into Lebanon's growing market for locally-made artisanal goods.
UN Women/Joe Saade

Women still struggle to find a job, let alone reach the top: new UN report calls for 'quantum leap'

7 March 2019
Economic Development

Women’s job opportunities have barely improved since the early 1990s, UN labour experts said on Thursday, warning that female workers are still penalized for having children and looking after them.

A joint ILO-UNICEF report is urging action to ensure that social protection reaches all children, like 6-year-old Mustafa who works with his father in an industrial area of Baghdad, and protects them from poverty and deprivation.
Photo: UNICEF/Wathiq Khuzaie

Nearly two-thirds of children lack access to welfare safety net, risking ‘vicious cycle of poverty’

6 February 2019
Economic Development

More than six in 10 children globally lack access to social protection, leaving them particularly vulnerable to falling into chronic poverty, the UN said on Wednesday, warning also that some governments are cutting State cash entitlements, amid continuing economic uncertainty.

ILO Director-General Guy Ryder (center) speaks at press conference in Geneva.
UN Geneva/Sarah Mbengue

Lowest rate of wage growth since 2008; gender ‘injustice’ continues: ILO chief

26 November 2018
Interviews

Take-home pay around the world is growing at its slowest rate since the 2008 global financial crisis, the head of the International Labour Organization (ILO) said on Monday.

Audio -
4'43"
Moussa, Idriss and Mahmoud (left to right) have found shelter under a truck in Bangassou in the Central African Republic after they were displaced by violence. (file)
Boris Matous/OCHA

Promoting decent work ‘daily challenge’ in fragile countries, UN Labour Summit told

7 June 2018
Economic Development

The Central African Republic (CAR) has called on the United Nations labour agency to provide special assistance to the conflict-torn nation and make it a “pilot-country” for the implementation of a programme to build peace and resilience through job creation.

Ann Mari May, Economics Professor at University of Nebraska-Lincoln and David Kucera, Senior Economist at ILO's Employment Policy Department.
courtesy of Ann Mari May. Photo: Ave Kukuli

The economics of gender balance

16 March 2018
UN Gender Focus

As women fight for gender parity in and out of the workforce a new study shows that in most of Europe, women are slowly catching up to men.

Audio -
23'20"
Photo: weedezign/Adobe Stock
weedezign/Adobe Stock

UN Guidelines to train cabin crews to identify traffickers

4 January 2018
Interviews

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), 40.3 million people were victims of forced labour and modern slavery in 2017.  The 2016 Global Report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (

Audio -
8'39"
Child labour on family farms should be addressed in an appropriate and context-sensitive way that respects local values and family circumstances.
FAO/J. Thompson

Guide seeks to prevent child labour in agriculture during conflicts, disasters

4 July 2017
General News

A new guide aimed at preventing child labour in the agriculture sector during times of conflict or disaster has been launched by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Audio -
A fifteen-year-old child works to weld a frame in Sana’a, Yemen.
UNICEF/Al-Zikri

Focus is on conflict and disaster, for World Day Against Child Labour

12 June 2017
General News

A significant number of the nearly 170 million child workers globally are living in areas affected by disaster and conflict, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Audio -
Guy Ryder.
UN Photo/Violaine Martin

Greening world of work is the future: UN labour chief

5 June 2017
General News

Decent “green” jobs are the future and they must be placed at the heart of the sustainable development agenda, the chief of the International Labour Organization (ILO) said on Monday.

Audio -
Henia Dakkak.
UN News/Matthew Wells

UN Gender Focus: Syrian women, workplace sexual abuse and agricultural workers

23 March 2017
UN Gender Focus

“Invisible” impact of Syrian civil war destroying family life: UNFPA

Audio -
10'1"