Manuela Tomei is the Assistant Director-General for Governance, Rights and Dialogue in the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Ms Tomei has had an extensive career in the ILO.  Joining in 1988 as an Associate Expert, she went on to serve as a Technical Specialist in the Employment Department before joining the InFocus Programme on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work as a Senior Specialist. She was appointed Chief of the Conditions of Work and Employment Branch in 2007 and from 2011, served as Director of the Labour Protection Department. In 2013, she was then appointed Director of the Conditions of Work and Equality Department. The focus of her work has been on labour protection and conditions of work, emerging work arrangements, including platform work, and gender equality and non-discrimination in employment. 

Ms Tomei led the work that culminated with the adoption of the last two ILO Conventions, namely the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) and the Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190) and accompanying recommendations (Nos. 201 and 206, respectively). She was the main architect of the multi-stakeholder Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC), linked to target 8.5 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Ms Tomei is a member of the Advisory Council of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership. She speaks English, French and Spanish, besides Italian, her mother tongue.