ILO and the protection of female migrant domestic workers: ongoing limits and recent developments

When it comes to considering the phenomenon of international migration, it is worth reminding that almost half of the total population of international migrants worldwide is represented by women. Once they arrive in a developed country as independent female workers, they usually find work in traditionally female-dominated occupations, such as domestic work. From the international legal perspective, it is necessary to understand how the category of female migrant domestic workers (FMDWs) can be subject to phenomena, inter alia, such as discrimination and the threaten to their social and security rights. This work aims at analysing the contribution of the International Labour Organization (ILO) to the formulation of international legal standards that take into account the protection of FMDWs and its most recent developments, through the establishment of ILO’s capacity-building partnerships on this issue. After a brief reconstruction of the principles to legally frame the category of FMDWs, this chapter will investigate the ILO Convention concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers No. 189 and the subsequent Recommendation no. 201 of 2011 vis-à-vis FMDWs. Nonetheless, some legal limitations related to the effective protection of social and security rights for FMDWs still persist in the State practice of developed countries. Therefore, ILO’s contribution to the creation of partnerships and capacity-building initiatives, both within the countries of departure and destination of FMSWs, is considered crucial to increase protection of FMDWs, at an international and regional level.