Women domestic workers earn 48% of other employees’ wages – ILO

Women employed as domestic workers worldwide earn an average of 48% of the monthly wages of other employees, highlighting persistent gender-based inequalities in the sector, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

In its latest report, The State of Domestic Work in 2025: 15 Years After Convention No. 189, the ILO said women account for 77.2% of domestic workers globally and are disproportionately concentrated in cleaning and direct-care occupations.

The report found that male domestic workers earn an average of 65.8% of the monthly wages of other employees, compared with 48% for their female counterparts.

The figures underscore the persistent wage disparities affecting women in a sector that provides essential household services, including cleaning, cooking and caring for children, older persons and people with disabilities.

The ILO estimates that 80 million people aged 15 and above are employed as domestic workers worldwide, up from 75.6 million in 2019.

However, 66.5 million of these workers, representing 83.1% of the global domestic workforce, remain in informal employment, often without effective labour and social protection.

The organisation said domestic workers earn an average of 53.3% of the monthly wages of other employees, while those in informal employment earn just 48.7%.

The report also found that 35.2% of domestic workers work at least 49 hours per week, with 14.6% working 60 hours or more.

The ILO has called for stronger implementation of its Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), and Recommendation No. 201 to improve wages, expand social protection, strengthen working-time safeguards and ensure decent working conditions.

It also urged governments and other stakeholders to strengthen labour-law enforcement, promote social dialogue and collective bargaining, and invest in decent care jobs.

Patrick Belser, Chief of the ILO’s Informal Work Branch, said progress in some countries showed that change was possible, but more needed to be done to address informality and the widening wage gap.

“We cannot claim to value care while undervaluing the people who provide it,” he said, calling for the rights outlined in the convention to be translated into effective protection for domestic workers.