Redefining Gender Equality: The Hidden Value of Unpaid Care Work
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): International Policy Digest
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/11/07
Unpaid work performed by women accounts for as much as 40 percent of GDP in some nations, a staggering statistic that underscores the imbalance. Achieving gender equality requires addressing these disparities—redistributing unpaid labor, childcare, and household responsibilities. Globally, women and girls perform over twice as many hours of unpaid work each day as men. How should we respond to these numbers? While indifference or pessimism are tempting reactions, neither helps move us forward. Instead, learning, taking action, and recognizing the potential for change offer a path toward a more equitable society.
Empowering women, in turn, empowers men and strengthens communities as a whole. Although women face unique challenges, this isn’t an attempt to paint them solely as victims but to provide a statistical grounding for understanding inequalities. Across the world, women—particularly those from minority and migrant backgrounds—experience greater disparities in both paid and unpaid labor. These gaps are more than statistical; they’re solvable issues.
Globally, women make up around 80 percent of paid domestic workers, meaning they often engage in caregiving professionally and continue it at home without compensation. Of course, every situation varies, and these responsibilities should ideally be balanced based on individual circumstances. Yet, on a societal level, we must address the gross disparities in workload if we’re to build a fairer system. Poverty, in many cases, can be traced back to these unequal burdens.
Investing in women isn’t just an investment in individuals—it’s an investment in the broader economy. Increased time spent on unpaid labor limits women’s potential earnings, creating long-term financial constraints and heightening the risk of poverty. Recent international initiatives suggest there is growing recognition of this issue. National strategies, such as those passed in Panama, Colombia, Chile, and Brazil, have established care systems that aim to alleviate these burdens and provide more equitable access to support.
The International Day of Care and Support serves as a reminder of the importance of these systems. UN Women acknowledged notable progress in various countries. Kenya’s use of its first national Time Use Survey, for instance, informed the development of its national care policy. The Philippines’ Caregivers Welfare Act protects caregivers’ rights, while Spain has introduced a strategy for community-based long-term care. Canada, meanwhile, is working to provide affordable, inclusive childcare options in collaboration with provincial and Indigenous partners, supported by a $30 billion investment over five years.
These advancements represent steps toward a society where care and support are valued equally across genders. Every initiative that shifts the balance of unpaid labor brings us closer to an equitable future, where the contributions of all citizens—paid or unpaid—are fully recognized and rewarded.
Last updated May 3, 2025. These terms govern all In-Sight Publishing content—past, present, and future—and supersede any prior notices. In-Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen is licensed under a Creative Commons BY‑NC‑ND 4.0; © In-Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen 2012–Present. All trademarks, performances, databases & branding are owned by their rights holders; no use without permission. Unauthorized copying, modification, framing or public communication is prohibited. External links are not endorsed. Cookies & tracking require consent, and data processing complies with PIPEDA & GDPR; no data from children < 13 (COPPA). Content meets WCAG 2.1 AA under the Accessible Canada Act & is preserved in open archival formats with backups. Excerpts & links require full credit & hyperlink; limited quoting under fair-dealing & fair-use. All content is informational; no liability for errors or omissions: Feedback welcome, and verified errors corrected promptly. For permissions or DMCA notices, email: scott.jacobsen2025@gmail.com. Site use is governed by BC laws; content is “as‑is,” liability limited, users indemnify us; moral, performers’ & database sui generis rights reserved.
In-Sight Publishing 