Issue brief # 1

Social Care Needs and Service Provision in Arab States: Bringing Care Work into Focus in Lebanon

This Issue Brief is part of a series that examines women’s labour force participation in Arab States using gender equality and workers’ rights perspectiveز

It looks at growing unmet social care needs in Arab States in relation to their impact on women’s labour force participation in the region. Using research findings from Lebanon, the brief illustrates the vital role of women in providing unpaid home-based care work to fill the service gaps and the constraints this situation creates for their labour force participation. To better support fair employment opportunities for women, governments need to prioritise social care policies and programmes.