About 10 per cent of people are left handed, yet the world of work is overwhelmingly set up for right-handers. There are also numerous examples – historical and contemporary - of discrimination and stigma in relation to left-handed people.

In this edition of the ILO's Future of Work podcast, Sophy Fisher speaks to Dr Marietta Papadatou-Pastou, Assistant Professor at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Dr Papadatou-Pastou's research interests include various aspects of neuropsychology, as well as cognitive neuroscience and experimental psychology. Her work focuses on handedness and brain lateralization, using behavioral and brain imaging techniques in healthy individuals as well as populations with special education needs.

Ahead of International Migrants Day, ILO Senior Labour Migration Specialist, Gloria Moreno-Fontes, speaks from Pretoria about the Southern Africa Migration Management (SAMM) Project, aiming to improve migration management in the Southern Africa and Indian Ocean region. The project is funded by the European Commission and implemented by the ILO in collaboration with the IOM, UNODC and the UN Refugee Agency.

ILO presents Bi Qiting. Qi lost her eyesight at 14. She trains to become a swimming instructor because to help other people with disabilities get out of the home, exercise and enjoy life more.

Senior Programme Officer in Turkey, Nejat Kocabay, explains how an ILO project is helping to eliminate the worst forms of child labour in seasonal agriculture in Turkey, including hazelnut harvesting.

Supply chains are broken and acute shortages are hiking prices. And while businesses struggle to stay afloat, vulnerable groups search for jobs. These changes, compounded by the COVID pandemic, have caused great turmoil in our lives. But, they also provide opportunities for moving towards a better future of work.

The first WHO/ILO global estimates on disease and injury in the workplace outline the level of preventable premature deaths due to exposure to work-related health risks.

Driven by the belief that young people possess the agency and power to shape their future, some Kenyan youth are tapping into the digital economy and taking their place at the negotiation table.

The world of work has been profoundly affected by the pandemic threatening livelihoods and the wellbeing of millions.  ILO sets out the world of work response to the COVID-19 crisis on how to build a human-centred future of work.

The workplace should be safe for everyone, everywhere. The ILO Convention No. 190 aims to end all forms of violence and harassment in the world of work, including gender-based violence. The Convention focuses on restoring dignity and respect for all. Ask your governments to #RatifyC190.

Iman comes from a family of 11 in the village of Bani Quis in the north-western Yemeni governorate of Hajjah. Iman dropped out of school at an early age because she lacked the means to reach her school some six kilometres away from her village. Now 18 and only semi-literate, she wishes she had had the chance to learn at school. Having decided to pursue other learning options to obtain practical vocational skills, Iman joined an apprenticeship implemented by an ILO partnership. In addition to theoretical instruction, Iman gained sewing skills from the practical training.

FAO podcast: Tonle Sap Lake in northeast Cambodia is one of the most productive inland fishing waters in the world, due to flooding and monsoon. Fisheries are the backbone of country’s economy, with Tonle Sap contributing over half of the country’s fish production. Yet the lake’s 4.8 million residents are some of the poorest in Asia. Many depend heavily on fish and rice for their livelihoods and have to send their children to work rather than school, in order to survive. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is working with the government and partners to get children back to school.

Producers: Charlotta Lomas, Anais Hotin, Marina Sánchez Castelo, Chann Tet, Sophana Sim, Panos Pictures.
Presenter: Charlotta Lomas, FAO.
Photo ©FAO/Tang Chhin Sothy.

ILO’s WESO Trends 2021 projections highlight the danger of a COVID-19 labour market legacy of increased geographic and demographic inequality, rising poverty and fewer decent jobs.

The new reality, due to the pandemic, has left many mothers scrambling. With schools and day-cares closed, many were forced to leave their jobs or cut the hours they worked. New IMF estimates confirm the outsized impact on working mothers, and on the economy. Within the world of work, women with young children have been among the biggest casualties of the economic lockdowns. Three countries—the United States, the United Kingdom, and Spain—illustrate the varied impact of the pandemic on workers.

Family businesses employ 60% of the world’s workforce and contribute over 70% of global GDP. And collectively they have immense financial resources to invest in the Sustainable Development Goals. UNCTAD’s new Family Businesses for Sustainable Development initiative harnesses their potential to be a force for good and help build a transformative and sustainable future. 

Jordanian Omar Abu Noa’aj has struggled to find work for years due to his physical disability. Last year, an ILO employment centre helped him secure his first formal job at a garment factory, giving him a new sense of independence and purpose. A year on since his employment, Abu Noa’aj says his life has been transformed. “Before I started working, I used to see people going to work in the morning and say: ‘What a great feeling that must be.’ Now, I know what this feeling is like,” Abu Noa’aj said.