Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Morocco (Ratification: 1963)

Article 2 of the Convention. Equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women. Public service. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report, in response to its previous comment, that: women represent 35 per cent of state civil service officials (65 per cent of officials in the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, 43 per cent in the Ministry of Justice, and 40 per cent in the Ministry of National Education, Early Years and Sport); they occupy 26.8 per cent of leadership positions and 13.2 per cent of senior leadership positions. The Committee welcomes the adoption of Act No. 30.22 (enacted through Dahir No. 1-22-55 of 11 August 2022) amending the General Public Service Regulations so as to introduce the following benefits: (1) paid paternity leave of 15 consecutive days from the date of the birth of the child; (2) for male civil servants, paid leave of 15 consecutive days from the date of the placement into Kafalah of a child under 24 months (Kafalah is an arrangement, approved by the judicial authority, under which a person commits to taking in a child without establishing a legal filiation); and (3) for female civil servants, leave of 14 weeks from the date of the placement into Kafalah of a child under 24 months, and nursing breaks of one hour per day until the child born into or placed into Kafalah reaches 24 months of age. The Committee notes the other measures listed in the Government’s report, particularly: the ongoing partnership with UN-Women to build the capacities of the Inter-Ministerial Cooperation Network for the Institutionalization of Gender Equality in the Public Service; the establishment of training sessions for applicants for leadership positions within the decentralized services of ministerial departments; and the establishment of child daycare centres by the Ministry of Economy and Finances and the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development. The Committee nonetheless notes that the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), in its 2022 concluding observations, noted that despite efforts, the representation of women in public office, particularly at the communal and regional levels, and in senior public administration posts, remains low (CEDAW/C/MAR/CO/5-6, 12 July 2022, paragraph 27). The Committee also notes that this under-representation in leadership positions is confirmed by the data provided by the Government in its report. The Committee requests the Government to continue its efforts to promote equality of opportunity and treatment between women and men in the public service, and to provide detailed information on the implementation of these measures and their results, including statistics on women’s representation in the public service, particularly at the communal and regional levels, and in leadership positions. It also requests the Government to provide information on any measures taken or envisaged with a view to aligning the duration of the leave granted to men from the date of placement into Kafalah of a child under 24 months with the duration of the same leave granted to women.

Private sector. Following its previous comment, the Committee notes the Government’s indications that: (i) a third version of the Government Equality Plan (PGE III), covering the 2023–2026 period, was developed and is based on three pillars: empowerment and leadership (first pillar), protection and well-being (second pillar), and rights and values (third pillar), in addition to a common cross-cutting pillar on the mechanisms for the implementation, piloting, governance and decentralization of the actions to be carried out; (ii) the National Agency for the Promotion of Employment and Skills (ANAPEC) focuses on services to promote entrepreneurship, addressing women specifically and populations facing particular vulnerabilities more generally; (iii) ANAPEC continues to implement the Programme for the Empowerment of Cyclical Women Migrant Workers in Morocco (IRTIQAA) for seasonal women workers in Spain who wish to start up work in Morocco; (iv) ANAPEC and its partners have also set up the Women as Financially Independent Rural Actors (WAFIRA) Programme to support the socio-economic and sustainable reintegration of seasonal agricultural women workers from Spain into their communities of origin; and (v) the Ministry for Economic Inclusion, Small Enterprises, Employment and Skills (MIEPEEC) has set up a programme for the protection of women’s rights at work based on: strengthening monitoring of compliance with the regulatory provisions (first pillar); financial support for nongovernmental organizations dedicated to women’s rights at work (second pillar); granting of occupational equality prizes (third pillar); and establishment of international cooperation programmes (fourth pillar). While once again welcoming these various initiatives, the Committee notes that in its 2022 concluding observations, CEDAW noted that the participation of women in economic activity remained low, gender disparities persisted in access to the labour market, and women had limited access to social protection (CEDAW/C/MAR/CO/5-6, paragraph 33). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results of the various measures taken relating to gender equality in employment and occupation, including statistics on women’s access to vocational training, and to jobs and different occupations, and on their employment conditions, throughout the country, including in rural areas.

Institution responsible for promoting equality and combating discrimination. Further to its previous comment, the Committee notes that, in its report the Government refers to the provisions of Act No. 79-14 concerning the Parity and Anti-Discrimination Authority (APALD), setting out ALPAD’s terms for staff and budget allocations, and APALD’s functions, and indicates that APALD is still in the process of becoming operational. Recalling that Act No. 79-14 concerning the Parity and Anti-Discrimination Authority (APALD) was enacted on 21 September 2017, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary steps, as soon as possible, to ensure that APALD can operate, in its functions of handling complaints and of providing advice and recommendations, awareness-raising and training. The Committee also requests the Government to provide detailed information on the activities carried out in practice by APALD (once it becomes operational) to combat discrimination and promote equality in employment and occupation, including the number and nature of the cases of discrimination handled, and their outcome.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.