Anti-Discrimination Laws and Work in the Developing World: A Thematic Overview

Publication:
Anti-Discrimination Laws and Work in the Developing World: A Thematic Overview

dc.contributor.author	Fredman, Sandra
dc.date.accessioned	2013-01-16T21:03:36Z
dc.date.available	2013-01-16T21:03:36Z
dc.date.issued	2012-10
dc.description.abstract	This paper reviews legal and other instruments aimed at addressing labor market discrimination in developing countries in the context of understanding jobs as the connection between the three identified transformations at the center of economic development: living standards, productivity gains, and social cohesion. Discrimination impacts living standards by excluding individuals from the labor market, by (1) consigning them to low paid, low quality, or insecure jobs; (2) subjecting them to victimization, violence, harassment, or violence; or (3) inhibiting their opportunities to benefit from promotions, training, or personal development, because of their gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, or disability. Discrimination hinders productivity by excluding potentially productive workers from the workforce and failing to capitalize on their full potential. It can also have serious consequences for social cohesion, whether in its explicit forms of hatred, prejudice, violence, and harassment, or in its more insidious forms of condemning certain groups to low quality jobs, joblessness, or job insecurity. Beyond the labor market, discrimination in education prevents individuals from achieving their potential and contributing to a productive and cohesive society, while bias in property, marriage, and personal laws make it impossible to enter the paid labor force on equal terms. The current report discusses de jure equality and anti-discrimination laws—and their implementation (including affirmative action)—in the formal and informal sectors.	en
dc.identifier.doi	10.1596/12129
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10986/12129
dc.language.iso	en_US
dc.publisher	World Bank, Washington, DC
dc.relation.ispartofseries	Background Paper for the World Development Report 2013;
dc.rights	CC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holder	World Bank
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.subject	Labor
dc.subject	Law
dc.subject	Gender
dc.subject	Labor market
dc.subject	Discrimination
dc.subject	Anti-discrimination
dc.subject	Equality
dc.title	Anti-Discrimination Laws and Work in the Developing World: A Thematic Overview	en
dspace.entity.type	Publication
okr.crosscuttingsolutionarea	Gender
okr.date.doiregistration	2025-05-05T12:37:00.809084Z
okr.doctype	Publications & Research::Working Paper
okr.doctype	Publications & Research
okr.globalpractice	Social Protection and Labor
okr.globalpractice	Governance
okr.language.supported	en
okr.region.country	Bangladesh
okr.region.country	Botswana
okr.region.country	Brazil
okr.region.country	Czech Republic
okr.region.country	India
okr.region.country	Jamaica
okr.region.country	Kenya
okr.region.country	Nepal
okr.region.country	Philippines
okr.region.country	Zambia
okr.topic	Law and Development::Labor & Employment Law
okr.topic	Gender
okr.topic	Social Protections and Labor::Labor Law