Article 11(2)(a)-(b) of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women

Article 11 2. In order to prevent discrimination against women on the grounds of marriage or maternity and to ensure their effective right to work, States Parties shall take appropriate measures:

(a) To prohibit, subject to the imposition of sanctions, dismissal on the grounds of pregnancy or of maternity leave and discrimination in dismissals on the basis of marital status;

(b) To introduce maternity leave with pay or with comparable social benefits without loss of former employment, seniority or social allowances;

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

In the case of work, this then implies the need to reduce the barriers that may prevent women from becoming full participants in the society. The first statements in Article 11(2)(a) relate to the prohibition of the imposition of various sanctions on women.

If a woman is pregnant, and an employer is unaware of this fact, and if the woman then walks into work one day and informs her employer of being pregnant, then the employer must accommodate the employee and not dismiss her.

It is an integral aspect of equality of the sexes for the women to be able to come into their own and to have a new life without the fear of loss of career or job. Then, as has happened throughout much of the history of Canadian society, the marital status cannot be a grounds for the dismissal of the woman on the job.

Many women throughout the history of the world have been kept from positions because of the need for them to be married. They should have children. They should be married. In fact, they shall be in the home, taking care of the hearth and children – saith Yahweh.

It is not a new phenomenon for people to want to restrict women in a myriad number of ways. These rights documents are the new statements that this is not only not okay but also that this does not have to be this way. Women can be as free as the men in their lives.

The means by which people can keep women away from the world of work or try to coerce them back into the workplace is simply a set of doctrines and dogmas to keep women not as full human beings, in the past and right into the present.

The idea of women being discriminated against on the job for being single and in pursuit of her career is something the reason for these sections of documents such as the CEDAW. Also, aside from this particular subsection of Article 11 of the CEDAW, Article 11(2)(b) speaks to the right for some form of remuneration given the biological and reproductive fact of life for females.

Females give birth and males do not. This presents certain dilemmas in modern civilizations with advanced technological capacities and the need for human operators, who will get pregnant and will need time off – maternity leave.

This can harm their professional progress and keep them restricted in where they can go, who they can become, what they can do, how much they can make, and the promotions available to them.

Not very fun having to restart a professional career right in the middle of life; however, or nonetheless, this is a fact of life for man women who have a drive and motivation to move and work their way to the top of the professional world.

It becomes an instantiation of women’s rights to consider women as equals deserving of equal treatment, but given the differential facts of life for men and women, in need of some rather small special provisions to expedite the better equality of the sexes.

In light of maternity, for the women who so desire to have children, some of the allowances include maternity leave, which is where a woman who is pregnant or has recently given birth is given some time off.

Time off that is paid. Without such provisions, it becomes exceedingly difficult for the women of the world to be able to compete on an even playing field with the men in the workplace.

Plus, the provisions do not seem too onerous as an ask, where a woman can acquire the equal treatment with the men in their lives in the world of work. There can also be “comparable social benefits” for the women based on the lost work time. Also, there should not be any loss of the employment, the seniority, or the social allowances given to the women if she takes the maternity leave.

For some, they may have had experiences where they were reluctant to take the maternity leave or did take it. They had the reluctance because of not knowing if they would lose their job or their position within the company because of the treatment on the basis of their leaving for a pregnancy. The same can be said for the social allowances good jobs with seniority can provide for a woman.

These are real issues for Canadian women and others around the world. It is important, ethically and economically, to keep the qualified people on the job and not penalize them for their decisions to bear and bring new life into the world.

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
• Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
• The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
• Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
• Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
• The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
• Beijing Declaration(1995).
• United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
• Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
• The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
• Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.