ILO Report on Domestic Workers: Informality, Gender and Labour Protection
Revise the static topic: UPSC Social Justice notes
In short: The ILO estimates that 66.5 million domestic workers were informally employed worldwide in 2025, accounting for more than four out of five workers in the sector. Low wages, insecure working hours and inadequate protection make domestic work a major labour-rights and gender-justice concern, requiring enforceable employment standards and accessible social security.
Reference view of a domestic worker cleaning a house in Harare, Zimbabwe, illustrating the household labour at the centre of debates over formal employment and labour protection.
Image: UN News
Why in news
A new ILO report, covered by UN News, highlights widespread informality among domestic workers and calls for stronger implementation and wider ratification of ILO Convention No. 189 on decent work for domestic workers.
80 million
Domestic workers worldwide in 2025
66.5 million
Informally employed domestic workers in 2025
77.2%
Women’s share of domestic workers globally
53.3%
Domestic workers’ monthly wages relative to other employees
93.3%
Domestic-worker informality in Africa
40 countries
Ratifications of ILO Convention No. 189
Background
Domestic work is work performed in or for a household within an employment relationship, including cleaning, cooking and care services. It differs from unpaid care undertaken by household members, although both are part of the wider care economy. The private-home workplace, individual household employers and dispersed employment relationships complicate enforcement of ordinary labour standards. The ILO, a tripartite institution bringing together governments, employers and workers, addresses these challenges through Convention No. 189 and related decent-work principles.
What the report establishes
Global domestic employment increased from 75.6 million in 2019 to an estimated 80 million in 2025. Its share of total employment remained around 2.2 per cent, indicating that the increase broadly followed overall employment growth rather than a rising sectoral share.
Domestic workers were more than twice as likely as other employees to lack effective labour and social protection. About half were located in Asia and the Pacific, making the findings particularly relevant to regional discussions on employment and social justice.
These are global and regional findings, not estimates for India. They establish the scale of the international problem but cannot be used to infer India’s domestic-worker population, wage levels or informality rate.
- Africa recorded an additional 4.2 million domestic workers since 2019 and an informality rate of 93.3 per cent.
- Informality was nearly universal in the Arab States.
- Europe and Central Asia had the lowest regional informality rate, but more than one in three domestic workers were still paid informally.
- Among countries with comparable data, more than half reduced domestic-worker informality since 2019.
Infographic
Recognise
Treat household services as employment with clearly recorded terms.
Set standards
Protect wages, working time, rest, leave and dignity.
Secure
Provide portable, affordable social protection.
Enforce
Enable complaints and lawful, privacy-respecting investigation.
Include
Centre women’s safety and workers’ participation.
AI-assisted infographic by Pragnya IAS Academy, based on the cited sources.
Why domestic work requires gender-sensitive labour reform
Women accounted for 77.2 per cent of domestic workers globally and were concentrated in cleaning and care occupations. Treating these tasks as an extension of women’s presumed household responsibilities can obscure their status as skilled, remunerated work and weaken recognition of workers’ rights.
Domestic workers earned, on average, 53.3 per cent of other employees’ monthly wages; the corresponding figure for informal domestic workers was 48.7 per cent. These are monthly earnings comparisons, not controlled measures of unequal pay for identical work or hourly wage differences.
Working-time insecurity takes opposite forms. Some workers face excessive hours, while others receive too few paid hours and must combine employment across households. Reform must therefore address both overwork and inadequate earnings rather than assuming that all domestic workers have the same employment arrangement.
- More than one-third worked at least 49 hours weekly, while nearly 15 per cent worked 60 hours or more.
- Live-in arrangements require clear boundaries between working time, rest and availability for duties.
- Gender-sensitive protection should include maternity support, protection against sexual harassment and safe, accessible complaint mechanisms.
Convention No. 189: From recognition to enforceable standards
ILO Convention No. 189 sets international standards for decent work for domestic workers. Its framework covers fundamental rights at work, fair employment conditions, protection from abuse, working-time safeguards, remuneration and social security.
The source reports ratification by 40 countries, with particularly low ratification in Asia and the Arab States. Ratification creates an international commitment for the ratifying State, but practical protection also requires domestic laws, institutions, financing and enforcement.
The convention recognises the distinctive workplace without treating it as a justification for inferior rights. Enforcement must reconcile workers’ access to protection with respect for household privacy.
- Workers should receive understandable information about employment terms, preferably through written contracts where possible.
- Working-time and social-security protection should aim at treatment no less favourable than that of workers generally, subject to the convention’s provisions.
- Accessible dispute-resolution and complaint mechanisms are essential to make legal recognition effective.
- Private employment agencies should not become a route for evading responsibility for abusive recruitment or employment practices.
India’s constitutional and legal relevance
The constitutional case for protecting domestic workers rests on dignity under Article 21, prohibition of trafficking and forced labour under Article 23, and the State’s equality obligations under Articles 14 and 15. Article 23 is particularly significant because its prohibition is not confined to State conduct.
The Directive Principles reinforce the policy foundation: Article 39 addresses adequate livelihoods and equal pay for equal work; Article 42 concerns just and humane working conditions and maternity relief; and Article 43 envisages a living wage and decent conditions of life. Unlike Fundamental Rights, these principles are not directly enforceable by courts.
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act recognises a dwelling place or house as a workplace and provides a Local Committee route for complaints involving domestic workers, with police referral where applicable. However, protection under one law should not be confused with comprehensive coverage of wages, working time, dismissal and social security.
- India-specific analysis should distinguish constitutional guarantees, statutory coverage and actual access to remedies.
- Labour lies substantially within the Concurrent List, making Union–State coordination important for coherent protection.
- The report does not establish the current coverage or implementation of particular Indian wage or social-security laws for domestic workers.
A practical architecture for formalisation
Formalisation should mean effective rights, not merely entry into a database. A workable package would combine simple employment records, enforceable wage and working-time standards, portable social security and remedies that workers can use without disproportionate cost or fear.
Employment arrangements require differentiated administration. A worker employed by several households needs portable entitlements and a feasible contribution mechanism; a live-in worker additionally needs clear rest periods, freedom of movement and safeguards against continuous availability.
Enforcement should be proportionate and privacy-respecting. Document-based checks, accessible complaints and legally authorised investigation can complement one another, while worker organisations and local institutions can improve awareness and access.
- Use model employment agreements specifying duties, remuneration, hours, rest, leave and termination terms.
- Design assisted registration and non-digital access so that formalisation does not exclude workers with limited digital access.
- Provide sustainable public support where low earnings make contributory protection unaffordable.
- Regulate placement agencies while preserving accountability of the actual employer.
- Measure success through benefit receipt, wage compliance and grievance resolution rather than registration totals alone.
| Protection gap | Policy response | Implementation safeguard |
|---|---|---|
| Unclear or unwritten employment terms | Simple written terms and accessible employment records | Use understandable language and provide the worker with a copy |
| Low or irregular remuneration | Enforceable wage standards and proof of payment | Provide low-cost recovery mechanisms without making digital payment compulsory |
| Excessive hours or unpredictable schedules | Defined duties, working time, rest and leave | Distinguish live-in work from continuous on-call availability |
| Fragmented social-security access | Portable benefits and feasible contributions across employers | Support low-income workers and simplify household compliance |
| Harassment and abuse inside private homes | Accessible complaints, survivor support and lawful investigation | Protect confidentiality, guard against retaliation and respect due process |
- 1. Identify workers and employment relationships through accessible, voluntary assistance
- 2. Record agreed duties, wages, working time, leave and termination terms
- 3. Connect workers to portable social-security coverage with feasible financing
- 4. Enable confidential complaints and affordable dispute resolution
- 5. Enforce compliance through proportionate, legally authorised procedures
- 6. Evaluate actual wage payments, benefit access and remedy outcomes
2019
The report’s comparison baseline recorded 75.6 million domestic workers worldwide.
2025
Global domestic employment reached an estimated 80 million, including 66.5 million informally employed workers.
Significance, challenges & way forward
Significance
- Protecting domestic workers recognises household services as employment rather than personal assistance outside the scope of labour rights.
- The predominance of women makes domestic-worker protection central to gender justice and the economic recognition of care.
- Reliable earnings and social security can reduce vulnerability to illness, maternity-related income loss and old-age insecurity.
- Clear employment terms can reduce disputes and improve predictability for both workers and household employers.
- Protection of paid care workers complements broader policies supporting families, childcare and care for older persons.
Challenges
- The private-home workplace makes violations difficult to detect while raising legitimate privacy concerns.
- Multiple household employers complicate the allocation of contributions, employment records and responsibility for entitlements.
- Low earnings and irregular employment can make purely contributory social security inaccessible.
- Fear of dismissal or retaliation can discourage complaints even where legal remedies exist.
- Registration without enforceable rights, funding and grievance mechanisms can create only nominal formalisation.
- Global aggregates cannot substitute for reliable India-specific evidence on employment arrangements and protection gaps.
Way forward
- Clarify statutory coverage and close identified gaps in wages, working time, leave, occupational safety and termination safeguards.
- Develop simple model agreements with worker and employer participation, allowing adaptation to live-in and multi-household employment.
- Build portable social protection with affordable contributions, public support where needed and transparent benefit rules.
- Strengthen Local Committees and labour grievance channels through outreach, legal assistance and safeguards against retaliation.
- Establish privacy-respecting enforcement protocols with clear legal authority and due-process guarantees.
- Support collective organisation and consultation so that domestic workers participate in designing standards that affect them.
- Use Convention No. 189 as a benchmark for reviewing domestic protection, alongside consideration of ratification and implementation requirements.
Key terms
- Domestic worker
- A person performing work in or for a household within an employment relationship.
- Informal employment
- Employment not effectively covered by relevant formal arrangements and protections, such as labour rights or social security.
- Care economy
- Paid and unpaid activities that provide direct care to people or support the conditions necessary for care.
- ILO Convention No. 189
- An international labour convention establishing standards for decent work for domestic workers.
- Ratification
- A State’s formal acceptance of an international treaty’s obligations.
- Portability
- The ability to retain and access social-security entitlements when changing employers or locations.
- Underemployment
- A situation in which a worker has insufficient employment, including fewer hours than desired and available for.
- Tripartism
- Participation of governments, employers and workers in labour-policy deliberation and decision-making.
Link with static syllabus
Prelims practice MCQs
Q1. With reference to ILO Convention No. 189, consider the following statements: 1. It concerns decent work for domestic workers. 2. Its ratification by a State automatically guarantees compliance by every household employer. 3. Its standards include working conditions and social security. Which of the statements given above are correct?
Q2. Consider the following pairs: 1. Article 23 — Prohibition of trafficking and forced labour 2. Article 42 — Just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief 3. Article 43 — Living wage and decent conditions of life for workers Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
Q3. With reference to the ILO findings on domestic workers supplied in the report, consider the following statements: 1. Women constituted a majority of domestic workers globally. 2. The rise in domestic-worker numbers since 2019 was accompanied by a substantial increase in their share of total employment. 3. The reported monthly wage ratio establishes the hourly pay gap for identical work. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Q4. Regarding protection against sexual harassment at work in India, consider the following statements: 1. A dwelling place or house can fall within the statutory definition of workplace. 2. The law provides a Local Committee route for complaints involving domestic workers. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Mains practice questions
GS 2 · 15 marks · 250 words
Domestic workers’ informality is both a labour-governance problem and a gender-justice challenge. In the light of recent ILO findings, suggest an enforceable protection framework for India.
Frequently asked questions
What is the central finding of the ILO report?
An estimated 66.5 million domestic workers were informally employed worldwide in 2025, representing more than four out of five workers in the sector. They were more than twice as likely as other employees to lack effective labour and social protection.
Why is domestic-worker protection a gender issue?
Women constituted 77.2 per cent of domestic workers globally. Poor remuneration and inadequate protection in cleaning and care occupations therefore have a disproportionate impact on women.
Does the report provide India-specific estimates?
The supplied material provides global and regional findings, not India-specific estimates. Its figures should not be presented as measurements of domestic employment or informality in India.
Is registering domestic workers enough to formalise employment?
No. Registration must be connected to enforceable employment terms, funded social protection and accessible remedies to produce meaningful protection.
Sources
Analysis prepared by the Pragnya IAS Academy current-affairs desk with AI assistance from the cited reports. Verify figures with the original sources.
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