Resources on Care Economy

  1. News

    The ILO joins the Global Alliance for Care

    21 September 2021

  2. Document

    Family-friendly policies for workers in the informal economy

    08 July 2021

    Protecting and ensuring social protection and care systems for all children and families in the context of COVID-19 and beyond

  3. ILO InfoStory

    How to make decent work a reality for domestic workers

    16 June 2021

    Domestic workers provide essential services to millions of households around the world but many are not covered by legal or social protections. Explore the key findings of the new ILO report on Domestic workers in our latest interactive InfoStory.

  4. International Labour Day

    Call to redouble efforts to ensure decent work for migrant workers

    01 May 2021

    We are at a turning point. As the world looks to build back better from the global COVID-19 crisis we must redouble our efforts to ensure decent work for migrant workers in a more sustainable, equal, and resilient post-pandemic world.

  5. ILO Working paper 29

    Public Employment Programmes in the Care Economy - The Case of South Africa

    29 April 2021

    The COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic crisis have increased unemployment levels in the care economy, detrimental effects of which are felt by care workers, the majority of whom are women. The South African experience shows that Public Employment Programmes (PEPs) have contributed to the progressive realisation of decent work where as a first step in the trajectory, they have recognised and renumerated care related labour as work. This case study raises a series of questions for further consideration about the role of PEPs in this context, particularly their efficacy in the provision of direct care services.

  6. UN Women - ILO Policy Tool

    How to assess fiscal stimulus packages from a gender equality perspective

    31 March 2021

    UN Women – ILO Joint Programme Promoting Decent Employment for Women through Inclusive Growth Strategies and Investments in Care.

  7. UN Women - ILO Policy Tool

    Assessing the gendered employment impacts of COVID-19 and supporting a gender-responsive recovery

    31 March 2021

    UN Women – ILO Joint Programme Promoting Decent Employment for Women through Inclusive Growth Strategies and Investments in Care.

  8. UN Women - ILO Policy Tool

    A guide to public investments in the care economy

    31 March 2021

    UN Women – ILO Joint Programme: Promoting Decent Employment for Women through Inclusive Growth Strategies and Investments in Care.

  9. © WOCinTech Chat 2023

    International Women’s Day

    ILO Director-General: "Let us invest in women as part of a human-centred recovery"

    08 March 2021

    To mark International Women’s Day, ILO Director-General paid tribute to the tremendous efforts made by women during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  10. © Gloria Mbuya 2023

    Gender equality

    How to strengthen gender measures and data in the COVID-19 era

    01 March 2021

    The COVID-19 pandemic has hit sectors where women are over-represented the hardest: tourism, retail, the care economy. Yet the pandemic has also exposed data collection gaps that undermine our ability to craft effective policy responses.