CAR E E CONOMY
Why in news?
International Labour Organization (ILO) released report “Care Work and Care Jobs for the Future of Decent Work”.
What is care economy?
• The care economy entails the production and consumption of goods and services necessary for the physical, social, mental and emotional well-being of care-dependent groups, such as children, the elderly, the ill and people with disabilities, as well as healthy, prime working-age adults. In 2015, 2.1 billion people children, older persons, people with several disabilities needed care and by 2030 this number will increase by 200 million people.
• Care work consists of two overlapping activities: direct, personal and relational care activities, such as feeding a baby or nursing an ill partner; and indirect care activities, such as cooking and cleaning.
67 ©Vision IAS
• Unpaid care work is care work provided without a monetary reward by unpaid carers. Paid care work is performed for pay or profit by care workers such as nurses, teachers, doctors and personal care workers. Domestic workers, who provide both direct and indirect care in households, are also part of the care workforce.
Care economy and Gender inequality
• The majority of the care work worldwide is undertaken by unpaid carers, mostly women and girls from socially disadvantaged groups.
• Unpaid care activities constitute a time and energy-consuming occupation that limits women’s access to the labour market, relegating them to low-income and insecure employment.
• Most paid care workers are women, frequently migrants and working in the informal economy under poor conditions and for low pay and it forms important source of employment for women.
Care Economy in India
• Women in India do almost 10 times as much unpaid work as men leaving them out of the formal workforce and unable to contribute to the economy.
• Due to the higher share of unpaid care work such as cooking, cleaning, and taking care of children and older members of the family, women’s contribution is left out of GDP.
• Women are responsible for only 17% of
India’s GDP (In China-40%).
• Gender inequalities in unpaid care work are also linked to gender wage gaps. In countries where women shoulder most of the responsibility for unpaid care work, they are less likely to be engaged in paid employment, and those who are active in the labour market are more likely to be limited to part-time or informal employment, and earn less than
their male peers.
Why is care work central to overall human development?
• Reorganization of the care economy to correct the gender imbalances in unpaid care work is an indispensable component of any policy intervention towards gender equality.
• Care economy is a development policy issue that also pertains to poverty reduction, elimination of inequalities by socio-economic status, decent jobs creation and sustainable and inclusive growth.
• Children are the workforce of the future, and investing in high quality and affordable childcare lays the foundation for our future.
• Care policy coverage deficits impact the most disadvantaged groups like people with care needs and care responsibilities (especially women), older persons, people living with disabilities, those living with HIV, indigenous peoples, those living in rural areas and those working in non-standard forms of employment or in the informal economy.
• The global prominence of nuclear families and single-headed households, higher care dependency ratios, changing care needs and the growth of women’s employment in certain countries increase the demand for care workers.
68 ©Vision IAS
Way forward
To avert a global care crisis and meet the Sustainable Development Goals the policy recommendations and measures are needed to achieve the high road to care work in the form of 5R Framework for Decent Care Work.
Why in news?
International Labour Organization (ILO) released report “Care Work and Care Jobs for the Future of Decent Work”.
What is care economy?
• The care economy entails the production and consumption of goods and services necessary for the physical, social, mental and emotional well-being of care-dependent groups, such as children, the elderly, the ill and people with disabilities, as well as healthy, prime working-age adults. In 2015, 2.1 billion people children, older persons, people with several disabilities needed care and by 2030 this number will increase by 200 million people.
• Care work consists of two overlapping activities: direct, personal and relational care activities, such as feeding a baby or nursing an ill partner; and indirect care activities, such as cooking and cleaning.
67 ©Vision IAS
• Unpaid care work is care work provided without a monetary reward by unpaid carers. Paid care work is performed for pay or profit by care workers such as nurses, teachers, doctors and personal care workers. Domestic workers, who provide both direct and indirect care in households, are also part of the care workforce.
Care economy and Gender inequality
• The majority of the care work worldwide is undertaken by unpaid carers, mostly women and girls from socially disadvantaged groups.
• Unpaid care activities constitute a time and energy-consuming occupation that limits women’s access to the labour market, relegating them to low-income and insecure employment.
• Most paid care workers are women, frequently migrants and working in the informal economy under poor conditions and for low pay and it forms important source of employment for women.
Care Economy in India
• Women in India do almost 10 times as much unpaid work as men leaving them out of the formal workforce and unable to contribute to the economy.
• Due to the higher share of unpaid care work such as cooking, cleaning, and taking care of children and older members of the family, women’s contribution is left out of GDP.
• Women are responsible for only 17% of
India’s GDP (In China-40%).
• Gender inequalities in unpaid care work are also linked to gender wage gaps. In countries where women shoulder most of the responsibility for unpaid care work, they are less likely to be engaged in paid employment, and those who are active in the labour market are more likely to be limited to part-time or informal employment, and earn less than
their male peers.
Why is care work central to overall human development?
• Reorganization of the care economy to correct the gender imbalances in unpaid care work is an indispensable component of any policy intervention towards gender equality.
• Care economy is a development policy issue that also pertains to poverty reduction, elimination of inequalities by socio-economic status, decent jobs creation and sustainable and inclusive growth.
• Children are the workforce of the future, and investing in high quality and affordable childcare lays the foundation for our future.
• Care policy coverage deficits impact the most disadvantaged groups like people with care needs and care responsibilities (especially women), older persons, people living with disabilities, those living with HIV, indigenous peoples, those living in rural areas and those working in non-standard forms of employment or in the informal economy.
• The global prominence of nuclear families and single-headed households, higher care dependency ratios, changing care needs and the growth of women’s employment in certain countries increase the demand for care workers.
68 ©Vision IAS
Way forward
To avert a global care crisis and meet the Sustainable Development Goals the policy recommendations and measures are needed to achieve the high road to care work in the form of 5R Framework for Decent Care Work.
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