As recently as 2023, 748 million people aged 15 and above were outside the labour force due to care responsibilities across the globe. A shocking yet unsurprising 708 million of these workers are women.
1With women making up less than 25% of the global transport workforce, 2factoring in caring responsibilities is vital in ensuring decent jobs for women workers and unlocking their crucial participation in the transport workforce.
On International Women’s Day 2026 the ITF highlighted the role of our affiliate unions in bringing the issues of care work to the bargaining table.
Throughout 2024 and 2025, ITF Women Representatives in Africa worked with the Kenya Hotels and Allied Workers’ Union (KHAWU) and the Kenya National Coordinating Committee (NCC) to successfully negotiate and sign a series of collective bargaining agreements supporting gender equality with key tourism companies, including Atua Engop Africa Ltd, Mahali Mzuri Management Ltd, Basecamp Explorer Ltd. These agreements cover women working as hotel workers and drivers in hotels and resorts in key hotspots for Kenya’s tourism industry, from the beaches of Mombasa to the safari camps of the Masai Mara.
Key wins included extended provisions for maternity leave, stillbirth leave, and protected pumping and breastfeeding time during working hours. In Basecamp Explorer worksites alone, maternity leave has increased from 3 to 4 months, substantially increasing the time women are able to spend with their babies after birth. As new CBA negotiations get underway from 2026, there is an opportunity to build on these wins and further centre the role of women hotel workers and drivers across the country’s tourism industry.
Morrine Mangoja Women's Representative, KHAWU stated:
Women have told us how vital these rights are to ensuring a level playing ground for women and mothers in ensuring participation in the workforce and equality throughout the transport and tourism sector.
1. ILO Brief The impact of care responsibilities on women’s labour force participation
2. survey of women transport workers by the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF)
