Building Care Economies for Gender-Inclusive Growth: Leadership from the Global South for the G20 examines how investments in the care economy can advance gender equality, expand labour force participation, and support inclusive economic growth across G20 economies. The policy brief highlights the critical role of both paid and unpaid care work including childcare, eldercare, and domestic work in sustaining economies and societies, while emphasizing that women continue to shoulder a disproportionate share of care responsibilities globally.

 

The report notes that women perform nearly three times more unpaid care work than men worldwide, with disparities rising significantly in developing economies. This unequal distribution of care responsibilities directly affects women’s economic participation, limiting employment opportunities, earnings, and professional advancement. At the same time, the care economy presents a major economic opportunity, with the potential to generate approximately 300 million jobs globally by 2035.

 

Drawing on examples from countries across the Global South, including Argentina, India, Brazil, Vietnam, South Africa, and Barbados, the report showcases innovative policy approaches to strengthening care systems. These include universal child benefits, employer-supported childcare, public employment programmes in care services, national care policies, and community-based childcare models. The report highlights how these initiatives improve access to care services, support women’s workforce participation, and recognise care as a shared social and economic responsibility rather than solely a private burden on women.

 

A key contribution of the policy brief is the development of a five-pillar framework for transforming care economies across G20 countries. The framework recommends: (1) implementing gender-neutral parental leave policies, (2) expanding coordinated subsidies for care services, (3) increasing investments in care infrastructure, (4) establishing professional training and certification systems for care workers, and (5) strengthening quality assurance and regulatory mechanisms. Together, these measures aim to reduce gender-based time poverty, professionalise care work, and build resilient, inclusive care systems.

 

The report further emphasizes the importance of multilateral cooperation, participatory policymaking, and cross-sector collaboration in advancing care economy reforms. It argues that investments in care infrastructure and services are not only essential for achieving gender equality and social justice, but also represent a strategic economic investment that can drive productivity, employment generation, and sustainable development.

 

As demographic transitions, urbanisation, and changing family structures reshape societies worldwide, the report positions the Global South as a source of innovative and scalable care economy solutions. By fostering South-South cooperation and integrating care into broader economic policy agendas, G20 countries can create more equitable, inclusive, and future-ready economies that recognise and value care work as a foundational pillar of development.