Sophie Otiende, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery, and Grace Forrest, Founding Director of Walk Free, join the ILO's Future of Work podcast to explore the many reasons for the continued existence of modern slavery and the role we can all play in finally putting an end to it.

August 23 is the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. Slavery is a clear human rights violation that has no place in the modern world! Yet, there are more people in slavery today than at any other time in history.

More than 40.3 million people are still in modern slavery, including 24.9 million in forced labour. It means 5.4 victims of modern slavery for every 1,000 people in the world. 1 in 4 victims of modern slavery are children.

That social injustice is at the heart of Wagner Moura’s commitment and activism to put an end to forced labour and child labour. The award-winning actor and ILO Goodwill Ambassador (50 for Freedom campaign) grew up in a very poor area in the northeast of Brazil. He saw first-hand the negative impacts of forced labour on a family, a community, a country.

“I think that education is the foundation for any sort of social change in the world”, Wagner Moura said.

Today he continues to put his time and energy to urge governments to enact and enforce legislation, protect their population, and end slavery in our lifetime.

Where does his passion for fighting slavery come from?

From archaeological and heritage sites to conservation parks, and music and cultural festivals, Ethiopia boasts a wide array of tourist attractions. However it lost 70 per cent of tourism revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with massive job losses – a situation that was worsened by the outbreak of war in the north of the country.

As part of our August Voices tourism series, we’re talking to Tewodros Derbew, strategic team leader and coordinator at the Ministry of Tourism in Ethiopia. He explains the challenges facing the sector, how the country is planning to re-position itself as a major destination through sustainable tourism, and what it means for the world of work.

When Lizzie Pickering's young son Harry died in 2000, she embarked on a journey to understand grief, how to live with it and how to help other people when their life has changed. In this podcast she shares the lessons she's learned from her own experiences and those of others.

We will discuss how to adapt to change and continue to work after losses, not only in the event of death, but also in the case of a medical condition, divorce, and a change of job. Is loss only a personal matter or should it be also touched upon at work? What can employers and colleagues do to support people when they are stressed or depressed?

Often others want to help but don't know how to deal with strong emotions, leaving those who are suffering to feel alone and frustrated. Are there any guidelines for coping with grief in the workplace? What is the impact of a workplace that handles grief well, as opposed to a workplace that doesn't?

These are uncertain times. Inflation has returned. A post-COVID recovery is under threat. These problems will need innovative solutions.

One option attracting attention is the social and solidarity economy, which will be the subject of a discussion at this year’s International Labour Conference.

The Social and Solidarity economy is sometimes described as a third sector; neither private or public sector enterprises, but an approach in which economic activities and projects are founded on the principle of solidarity.

One of the better-known forms of social and solidarity economy activity is the cooperative. These are enterprises that are owned, governed, and run by their members. What are the challenges that cooperatives face in order to operate well? How can cooperatives contribute to building resilient economies?

Does it matter if people are happy at work? Or should they just be satisfied with reasonable pay and conditions and not expect more? It’s well-established that happiness is linked to better health and longevity, but an increasing amount of scientific research has found ties with work-related matters like productivity, innovation and staff retention. So, should employers pay attention to staff happiness, and if so, how can they build it?

Each year, discrimination at work around gender identity, ethnicity, disability, race, religion or sexual orientation cost millions of dollars to our national economies and companies. Worse, one-in-four people do not feel valued at work and those who do feel included are in more senior roles, according to a new report on diversity and inclusion by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Today, diversity and inclusion have become new buzzwords in the global agenda. Yet, despite some progress, a lot remains to be done to embed diversity and inclusion in all aspects of the employee lifecycle and drive productivity, profitability, and innovation in businesses.

At the same time, the COVID-19 crisis has also demonstrated that inclusion and diversity matter more than ever. Therefore, embracing it as a core value is a must for a sustainable future of work. But what can be done to make this ideal a reality for millions of workers and employers worldwide?

Effective and comprehensive care systems not only support fundamental rights and human dignity, they also help people maximise their potential and their contribution to economies and societies. However, gaps in care systems – which were exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic – can undermine gender equality and make it more difficult for those with disabilities to find work, so removing talent and skills from the workforce. A new ILO report on care at work analyses the current state of care services in 185 countries and makes a strong case for increasing investment in the sector.

More than 60 per cent of the world’s adult labour force, or about 2 billion workers, work in the informal economy. They are not recognized, registered, regulated or protected under labour legislation and social protection. The consequences can be severe, for individuals, families as well as economies.

Despite major efforts over the years, there are few signs of the informal economy shrinking in size. In fact, the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed more workers into informal work to survive while highlighting the vital role access to social protection plays to support workers, especially when they are unable to work.

Just what is life like for workers in the informal economy? What are the global solutions to intransigent informality and will the growth of the ‘gig’ economy help informal economy workers gain the security and social protection they so badly need?

There is an enormous demand for scientific skills in the world of work. But if not enough women are inspired and encouraged to study science, they risk missing out on the jobs of the future and scientific professions risks losing the perspectives and experiences that women bring to the table.

On International Day of Women and Girls in Science we explore why the world needs science, and science needs women and girls.

Dr. Natasha Hurley-Walker, award-winning radio astronomer, explains how science is a key part to navigating the complexity of the world that we're in and what can be done to close the gender gap in this field.