From Geneva to the World? Global Network Diffusion of Antidiscrimination Legislation in Employment and Occupation: The ILO’s C111

Abstract

AbstractThe adoption of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) marked ILO’s first endorsement to universal non-discrimination and an early equal opportunity approach at work. Albeit considered to be premised upon “a traditional, formal-equality and formal-workplace vision of antidiscrimination law,” the convention marked a genuine new strand in international standard-setting in the Post-World War II and Philadelphia Declaration time. However, due to the implicit formal vision, it is assumed that ratification was more attractive and more feasible for countries of the Global North first. Following, this behavior diffused through colonial ties time-varying toward the Global South. Whether this assumption holds will also be studied regarding the moderating effects of networks of culture, trade, and regional proximity.