Resources on Care Economy

  1. ILOSTAT

    Why measuring unpaid domestic and care work matters

    27 October 2023

    Every day, more than 16 billion hours are devoted to unpaid domestic and care work around the world. As global populations age, these figures are set to rise, and quantifying unpaid domestic and care work is critical to understanding labour under-utilisation, employment trends, and gender-based inequalities.

  2. © Monty Rakusen/Cultura Creative 2024

    International Conference of Labour Statisticians

    Data: A common language for the world of work

    16 October 2023

    Without accurate data, labour market decisions cannot be taken says Rafael Diez de Medina, Chief Statistician and Director of the ILO Department of Statistics.

  3. © WOCinTech Chat 2024

    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.

  4. © Marcin Jozwiak 2024

    Work-life balance

    Working mothers squeezed out of labour force by COVID-19

    30 November 2020

    Families are making tough decisions about who keeps their paid job and who quits to provide the unpaid care needed at home during the COVID-19 crisis. Mainly it is women who are sacrificing their careers.

  5. © ILO 2024

    COVID-19 and gender equality

    COVID-19: G7 nations need to get gender equality right for a better future for women at work

    14 May 2020

    Fighting deep-rooted gender inequality must be part of countries’ responses to the crisis, says high-level meeting on the role of women in the post-COVID future.

  6. © Kenzo Tribouillard / AFP 2024

    COVID-19: Protecting workers in the workplace

    Women health workers: Working relentlessly in hospitals and at home

    07 April 2020

    Women globally make up over 70 per cent of workers in health, including those working in care institutions. They are on the front line of the fight against COVID-19. As a result of the pandemic they are facing a double burden: longer shifts at work and additional care work at home.

  7. COVID-19: Stimulating the economy and employment

    Are there enough health workers?

    03 April 2020

    Countries’ capacities to recruit and retain health workers vary significantly across regions. This unequal distribution exacerbates inequities in access to health services.

  8. Publication

    The Employment Generation Impact of Meeting SDG Targets in Early Childhood Care, Education, Health and Long- Term Care in 45 Countries

    19 December 2019

  9. Publication

    The Unpaid Care Work and the Labour Market. An analysis of time use data based on the latest World Compilation of Time-use Surveys

    19 December 2019

  10. Report

    The impact of HIV on care work and the care workforce

    10 December 2019

    This publication provides an overview of the gaps and challenges in six sub-Saharan African countries (Liberia, Namibia, South Africa, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia). By providing a picture of front-line prevention and treatment policies, this working paper assesses the socio-economic consequences of low antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage as well as the key role of the health workforce in international testing and treatment targets (90-90-90). The impact of HIV on caregivers’ working status and their employment opportunities is also reviewed through an empirical analysis.