Early childhood education (ECE) has a positive impact on children’s health, learning ability and future employment prospects. The availability of ECE also supports greater gender equality by facilitating women’s access to employment. As a growing sector, it provides employment opportunities for both women and men. Due to unevenness in quality and inadequate working conditions among the ECE workforce, there has been a longstanding need for international policy guidance in the sector. This gap was addressed in 2013 with the adoption of the ILO Policy Guidelines on promotion of decent work for early childhood education personnel, the first international text to deal with the status of ECE personnel. 15 November 2023 marks the tenth anniversary of the Guidelines, which was adopted by experts appointed by governments and employers’ and workers’ organizations.

The aim of this short guide to the Policy Guidelines is to commemorate their ten-year anniversary by providing an overview of the key principles that promote good practices for decent work and quality services in ECE.