Convention No. 111
Convention concerning Discrimination in Respect of
Employment and Occupation, 1958
The General Conference of the International Labour Organisation,
Having been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the International Labour Office, and
having met in its Forty-second Session on 4 June 1958, and
Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to discrimination in the field of
employment and occupation, which is the fourth item on the agenda of the session, and
Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of an international Convention, and
Considering that the Declaration of Philadelphia affirms that all human beings, irrespective of race,
creed or sex, have the right to pursue both their material well-being and their spiritual
development in conditions of freedom and dignity, of economic security and equal opportunity,
a nd
Considering further that discrimination constitutes a violation of rights enunciated by the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights,
adopts this twenty-fifth day of June of the year one thousand nine hundred and fifty-eight the
following Convention, which may be cited as the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation)
Convention, 1958:
Article 1
1. For the purpose of this Convention the term “discrimination” includes —
(a) any distinction, exclusion or preference made on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, political
opinion, national extraction or social origin, which has the effect of nullifying or impairing
equality of opportunity or treatment in employment or occupation;
(b) such other distinction, exclusion or preference which has the effect of nullifying or impairing
equality of opportunity or treatment in employment or occupation as may be determined by the
Member concerned after consultation with representative employers' and workers' organisations,
where such exist, and with other appropriate bodies.
2. Any distinction, exclusion or preference in respect of a particular job based on the inherent
requirements thereof shall not be deemed to be discrimination.
3. For the purpose of this Convention the terms “employment” and “occupation” include access to
vocational training, access to employment and to particular occupations, and terms and conditions of
employment.
Article 2
Each Member for which this Convention is in force undertakes to declare and pursue a national
policy designed to promote, by methods appropriate to national conditions and practice, equality of
opportunity and treatment in respect of employment and occupation, with a view to eliminating any
discrimination in respect thereof.
Article 3
Each Member for which this Convention is in force undertakes, by methods appropriate to national
c ondi t i ons a nd pr a c t i c e —
(a) to seek the co-operation of employers' and workers' organisations and other appropriate bodies
in promoting the acceptance and observance of this policy;
(b) to enact such legislation and to promote such educational programmes as may be calculated to
secure the acceptance and observance of the policy;
(c) to repeal any statutory provisions and modify any administrative instructions or practices which
are inconsistent with the policy;
1
ILO Gender Network Handbook (edition 2006), section 1