Rights Monitoring and Assessment using Quantitative Indicators of Law and Policy: International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Heymann, Jody; McNeill, Kristen; Raub, Amy

doi:10.1353/hrq.2015.0060

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Moreover, by supporting workforce attachment and its positive impact on long-term incomes, paid parental leave can help both national economies and family incomes [ 5 , 30 – 33 ]. This makes paid parental leave, which already has a strong basis of support in international agreements [ 87 , 88 ], an especially important policy to support realization of the SDGs across all income levels. While most countries now offer at least some paid maternal leave, many countries need to go further to ensure at least 6 months of paid leave to support exclusive breastfeeding, particularly for women in low wage jobs who may not have access to refrigeration at work or nearby childcare to make breastfeeding breaks an effective option.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paid parental leave and family wellbeing in the sustainable development era

Heymann¹,

Sprague

Nandi

et al. 2017

Public Health Rev

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BackgroundThe Sustainable development goals (SDGs) have the potential to have a significant impact on maternal and child health through their commitments both to directly addressing health services and to improving factors that form the foundation of social determinants of health. To achieve change at scale, national laws and policies have a critical role to play in implementing the SDGs’ commitments. One particular policy that could advance a range of SDGs and importantly improve maternal and infant health is paid parental leave.MethodsThis article analyzes literature on paid leave and related policies relevant to SDG 1 (poverty), SDG 3 (health), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 8 (decent work), and SDG 10 (inequality). In addition, this article presents global data on the prevalence of policies in all 193 UN Member States.ResultsA review of the literature finds that paid parental leave may support improvements across a range of SDG outcomes relevant to maternal and child health. Across national income levels, paid leave has been associated with lower infant mortality and higher rates of immunizations. In high-income countries, studies have found that paid leave increases exclusive breastfeeding and may improve women’s economic outcomes. However, factors including the duration of leave, the wage replacement rate, and whether leave is made available to both parents importantly shape the impacts of paid leave policies. While most countries now offer at least some paid maternal leave, many provide less than the 6 months recommended for exclusive breastfeeding, and only around half as many provide paternal leave.ConclusionsTo accelerate progress on the SDGs’ commitments to maternal and child health, we should monitor countries’ actions on enacting or strengthening paid leave policies. Further research is needed on the duration, wage replacement rate, and availability of leave before and after birth that would best support both child and parental health outcomes and social determinants of health more broadly. In addition, further work is needed to understand the extent to which paid leave policies extend to the informal economy, where the majority of women and men in low- and middle-income countries work.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paid parental leave and family wellbeing in the sustainable development era

Heymann¹,

Sprague

Nandi

et al. 2017

Public Health Rev

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“…This gap is not representative of a broader inattention among constitution-makers to the rights of specific groups. Guarantees of non-discrimination based on SES (included in 58% of constitutions) are less common than those based on race/ethnicity (included in 76% of constitutions) and gender (included in 84% of constitutions) (Heymann, McNeill, & Raub, 2015). This may reflect the earlier success of national and international social movements in putting these issues on national and the international agendas, several decades before the political and economic conditions converged to facilitate a global consensus around poverty reduction in the 1990s (Fukuda-Parr & Hulme, 2011;Noël, 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do constitutions guarantee equal rights across socioeconomic status? A half century of change in the world's constitutions

Cassola

Raub

Heymann

2016

J. int. comp. soc. policy

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For those disadvantaged by bias and barriers based on socioeconomic status (SES), constitutions can provide a defense against discrimination and a foundation for greater equality in social, economic, and political life. In light of the near-global commitment to a multi-dimensional poverty reduction agenda and the increased inclusion of marginalized groups in constitution-drafting processes, this article examines how 193 constitutions address SES and how this has changed over time. The majority of constitutions guarantee equal access to primary education across SES (59%) and prohibit discrimination on this basis (58%). Fewer guarantee access to healthcare (20%), equal rights in employment (15%), eligibility for legislative office (4%), and voting rights (4%) across SES. Constitutions adopted after 1990 are considerably more likely to protect equal rights across SES than older ones. However, 25% of constitutions – including 17% of those adopted since 1990 – restrict political participation based on socioeconomic characteristics.

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“…For example, studies have covered detailed questions of eligibility based on tenure requirements (De Guzman Chorny et al 2019), affordability of benefit levels (Bose et al 2019), and equality in access to paid leave for same-sex couples and single-parent families (Wong et al 2019). In addition to providing in-depth overviews of where the world stands in particular policy areas, these types of evaluations can be used to assess countries' progress towards fulfilling international human rights agreements (Heymann et al , 2015.…”

Section: Monitoring the Adoption Of Evidence-based Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%