Investing in Care: A Pathway to Gender-responsive COVID-19 Recovery

Building on data from the Europe and Central Asia and Asia-Pacific regions, this brief argues that the time to invest in the care economy is now. Such investment helps advance multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by increasing women’s labour force participation and productivity, professionalizing the care sector and generating decent work for men and women, reducing gender inequalities in care work and ultimately ensuring inclusive and resilient growth. The paper offers recommendations based on emerging research and new policy tools for strengthening public policies and workplace measures to recognize and redistribute unpaid care work and build a care economy as a cornerstone of social and economic recovery.