At the bottom of this article, you will find the translation into the other working languages of the ILO.
In May 2023, I was invited by the Staff Union to write an article for the blog Union about my experience as a pregnant woman on a TC contract. All colleagues are invited to write about whatever subject matters to them, and I thought why not – if another colleague is going through the same, she might appreciate not feeling alone.
Reactions to the testimony in the form of written comments, discussions or words of sympathy, made me realise that indeed, other women colleagues had had a hard time when pregnant at the ILO. Some of us had to go through difficult time with their boss, their contract not renewed, or had to go back to work early after delivery on an Excoll contract. I can only imagine how much stress they went through, but what stroke me the most was to hear from several colleagues that they would not “dare” falling pregnant while on a TC contract at the ILO. The renouncement to create a family while on precarious contracts coupled with this “biological clock” that we, women, have to take into account sounds… so unfair.
I shared with the Staff Union that I wished other pregnant colleagues could use a shortcut to learn about important information to know as future parents at the ILO. The Staff Union also found it useful to collect and summarize that information – especially in the context of its recently renegotiated Collective Agreement on Maternity Protection and Parental Leave in the ILO – and to share it widely. The Staff Union’s legal advisor as well as its working group on Diversity, Equality and work-life balance helped put together the summary, which can now be found on the Staff Union website’s working group page. I hope it can be useful to others and encourage colleagues who would like to find summaries on other topics, to make a request to Moiret, Céline moiret@ilo.org !
Version française: ici
Spanish version: here