Marital status discrimination - an introduction
Below are select introductory materials relating to marital status discrimination. (Reports about business & marital status discrimination from a wide range of sources are in the marital status discrimination section of our site.)
Below are some examples of lawsuits against companies raising the issue of marital status discrimination. Additional materials about lawsuits relating to marital status discrimination may be found on our site by using our Cross-category search and ticking the categories:
- “Issues>Discrimination>Marital status discrimination” and
- “Law & lawsuits>Lawsuits & regulatory action>Lawsuits & regulatory action: General”
[español] Argentina: INADI firma convenio con empresas para fomentar la diversidad y evitar la discriminación, diciembre 2008.
[español] España: Grupo Antena 3 exigirá a sus proveedores no incurrir en condiciones laborales precarias ni discriminatorias, mayo 2009.
International: Electronic Industry Code of Conduct includes provisions on marital status discrimination, Jun 2009.
Equality at work: The continuing challenge [PDF], Global Report under follow-up to ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, International Labour Organization, 2011 [scroll to p. 24, “Maternity and paternity status”, p. 26, “Legislation on marital status”)
Good Practice Note, Non-Discrimination and Equal Opportunity [PDF], International Finance Corporation, Jan 2006
Unmarried women in Asia: A business issue?, Esther Teh, CSR Asia, 16 Nov 2011
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights: article 16
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: article 23
- International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: article 10
- UN Human Rights Committee, General Comment 18: paragraph 6
- UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment 16: paragraphs 5, 10, 11
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: articles 1, 11.2, 16
- International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families: articles 1, 7
- 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action: paragraph 178
1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action: paragraph 178
Below we give examples of concerns regarding companies and marital status discrimination. In cases where the Resource Centre has invited companies to respond to concerns raised by civil society, we indicate whether the company has responded.
China: Married women face loss of job if they get pregnant, Nov 2008.
Czech Republic: Retail chains ask job applicants discriminatory questions, including marital status & number of children, Feb 2007.
Iran: Pars Special Economic Energy Zone tells single employees to marry or face dismissal, Jun 2008.
Historias y componentes discutidos en las áreas detalladas
Autor(a): Esther Teh, CSR Asia
In Asia, many companies have a preference for hiring unmarried women. Women about to get married or have married are being turned away by companies. Business is concerned about staff shortages as women take maternity leave, but also the increased...
- Áreas detalladas: Marital status discrimination - an introduction
- Empresas relacionadas: HTC PepsiCo
Autor(a): Anibel Ferus-Comelo & Päivi Pöyhönen, Finnwatch, Cividep & SOMO
This report focuses on labour rights in the mobile phone industry in India and addresses working conditions in export processing zones…The aim of this research is to get an understanding of unionisation and precarious employment in four mobile phone...
Autor(a): HP
The Electronic Industry Code of Conduct was prepared by a number of companies engaged in the manufacture of electronics products between June and October 2004. Participating companies included HP, IBM, Dell, Solectron, Sanmina SCI, Jabil, Celestica and...
- También se encuentra en: HP, Dell, IBM team up on industry code of conduct
- Áreas detalladas: Marital status discrimination - an introduction
- Empresas relacionadas: Celestica Dell Flextronics HP (Hewlett-Packard) IBM Jabil Circuit Sanmina-SCI Solectron
Las productoras y distribuidoras de Antena 3 no podrán incurrir en condiciones laborales precarias ni discriminatorias [España]
Autor(a): Europa Press [España]
Las productoras y distribuidoras del Grupo Antena 3 no podrán incurrir en condiciones laborales precarias ni discriminatorias después de que la compañía haya incluido una cláusula social en los contratos que tiene con todos sus proveedores, según...
- Áreas detalladas: Marital status discrimination - an introduction
- Empresas relacionadas: Antena 3 (part of Grupo Antena 3) Grupo Antena 3
Convenio contra la discriminación en la empresa [Argentina]
Autor(a): ComunicaRSE
El Instituto Nacional contra la Discriminación (INADI) firmó hace unas semanas un convenio con importantes compañías nacionales y multinacionales en el marco del Programa Red de Empresas por la Diversidad, a través del cual éstas se comprometen a...
- Áreas detalladas: Marital status discrimination - an introduction
- Empresas relacionadas: Alcatel-Lucent Coca-Cola Walmart
Autor(a): Beijing Review
While the 10th National Women's Congress revealed a cheering 45 percent of China's employed population is female, many women still face discrimination…Employers are reluctant to hire young women largely because they might later demand paid maternity...
Autor(a): BBC News
Single workers at one of Iran's major state-owned companies have been told to marry by September or face being fired, Iranian newspapers have reported. The Pars Special Economic Energy Zone Company employs thousands of people, mostly young men…Its...
- Áreas detalladas: Marital status discrimination - an introduction
Autor(a): Environmental Law Service [Czech Republic]
[Original report in Czech. Title translation and following summary of the report's key points provided by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]....
- Áreas detalladas: Marital status discrimination - an introduction
- Empresas relacionadas: Lidl
Autor(a): Students and Scholars against Corporate Misbehaviour (SACOM)
[Original report in Chinese. Title translation and following summary of the report's key points, provided by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre with authorization by SACOM.]...
- También se encuentra en: Shenzhen, China: NGO survey of working conditions in 13 electronics factories supplying 47 brands finds abuses including child labour, discrimination, excessive overtime
- Áreas detalladas: Marital status discrimination - an introduction
- Empresas relacionadas: Acer Apple ASRock Asus Bestec Power Electronics BYD Canon Compaq (part of HP) Datang Telecom Technology Dell Delta Electronics Epson (part of Seiko) Evoc Intelligent Technology Fittec International Foxconn (part of Hon Hai) Fujitsu Fujitsu Technology Solutions (part of Fujitsu) Gateway Hon Hai HP (Hewlett-Packard) Huawei Technologies IBM Konka Lenovo LG Electronics (part of LG Corp.) Matsushita (now Panasonic) Microsoft Motorola NEC Nokia Nortel Networks Panasonic Royal Philips Electronics Ruijie Networks (Part of Start Group) Samsung Seiko Sharp Siemens Sony TCL Corporation Toshiba Trigem Tsinghua Tongfang ZTE
Autor(a): Marla Dickerson and Meredith Mandell, Los Angeles Times [USA]
When Michigan-based Lear Corp. needed a secretary for its office in [Mexico], it placed an ad seeking a "female … aged 20 to 28 … preferably single … with excellent presentation", asking applicants to include a recent photo with their resumes. In the...
- Áreas detalladas: Marital status discrimination - an introduction
- Empresas relacionadas: Baker & McKenzie Coca-Cola Coca-Cola FEMSA Kimberly-Clark Lear Pepsi Bottling Group Shell