Advancing decent work and the care economy: An essential component of social development
This brief underscores the critical role of the care economy in advancing decent work, gender equality, and social development. It calls for bold investments, policy coherence, and transformative action to address care gaps and ensure fair, inclusive, and sustainable societies.
Care is central to human, social, economic and environmental well-being and sustainable development. Care work – both paid and unpaid – is essential to all other work. A well-functioning care economy supports individuals and families, contributes to a healthier workforce, creates jobs, enhances productivity and advances gender equality.
Substantive deficits in care policies, services and infrastructure across the world, together with social norms, contribute to an unequal and excessive share of unpaid care responsibilities placed on women, which limits their opportunities for participation in decent work and in broader economic, social, cultural and political life. In 2023, an estimated 748 million people were outside the labour force due to unpaid care responsibilities, accounting for a third of all working-age persons outside the labour force. Of these, 708 million were women and 40 million were men. In high-income countries, family responsibilities contribute up to 80 per cent to the gender employment gap and up to 62 per cent in low-income countries.
Workers in the care economy – 65 per cent of whom are women – face decent work deficits, including low pay, low status, inadequate social protection, long working hours, few opportunities to develop skills and significant exposure to occupational health and safety risks. At the same time, demand for care is set to increase as demographics change, populations age, and the health and social impacts of climate change are felt. By 2030, 2.3 billion people are expected to need care. Attracting and retaining a skilled care workforce capable of meeting the care needs of now and the future and building resilience into labour markets is an urgent priority. High-quality care requires decent work for care workers.
Investment in care is a powerful driver of gender equality, decent work and sustainable development, and a key component of universal social protection. Nearly 300 million decent jobs could be created by 2035 through investments in universal childcare and long-term care services alone.
Robust care systems require coordination and coherence across a wide range of policies on care, social protection, labour protection and non-discrimination, migration, employment, skills and macroeconomic and environmental policies, while also ensuring adequate public financing. The 2024 ILO resolution concerning decent work and the care economy provides clear guidance on the importance of recognizing, supporting and investing in the care economy as a critical component of social and economic development.
