Around the world, women undertake the bulk of unpaid care work – a fact that has had a considerably negative impact on their ability to participate fully in the economy. The development community has recently stepped up its commitment to women’s economic empowerment, recognising it as a lever of inclusive, sustainable growth. Yet progress on that agenda remains slow, due to the structural and social barriers blocking women from accessing labour markets and economic opportunities. These barriers are especially high in developing countries, where they are more likely to be in informal employment, public services and infrastructure may not be well developed, and women’s unpaid care responsibilities are the heaviest. Indeed, as care needs continue to grow globally throughout ageing societies, women will continue to be disproportionately impacted by the lack of social and physical infrastructure necessary for care.
This report aims to shed light on how governments, donors the private sector and civil society actors – among others – can design policies to support both those who need care and those who provide care. Emphasising the links between unpaid care work, gender equality and women’s economic empowerment, the report brings together existing knowledge of policy options for unpaid care work across regions, in four policy areas: infrastructure, social protection, public services and promotion of shared responsibility within the household. Insights from a review of existing literature are combined with findings of field missions in three countries – Brazil, Kenya and Nepal.