As the demand for caregiving services increases, the global care industry is expected to create nearly 300 million new jobs globally by 2035 according to the latest G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council (GEAC) report. Since life expectancy is anticipated to increase by almost five years by 2050, with 78 years becoming the average age, this report projects that there will be more people living in poor health due to non-communicable ailments and long-lasting complex medical conditions in the coming years.
The report notes that today across the world, over 75% of the home-based care workers who undertake a range of responsibilities including taking care of children and the elderly as well as those with disabilities are women and more than 80% of them are informally employed. Similarly, almost 74%, or about nine million, of all migrant domestic laborers are women, with nations such as Italy, Spain, and Greece depending on these workers for most caregiving services in homes.
However, according to the GEAC report, it is estimated that 90% of domestic workers globally are not covered by any form of social security. Furthermore, as some of these workers are migrants, they are not only marginalized but also have to navigate multiple layers of vulnerability. They face a myriad of risks and challenges, such as heavy workloads, long working hours, physical and emotional fatigue, as well as high exposure to diseases, trauma, violence, and harassment.
With over two billion people expected to be in need of care by 2030, the value of care work cannot be overemphasized but the growing need for care services is producing additional burdens for women whose capacity to balance careers, family responsibilities and personal lives is already under pressure.
The care provision, which includes paid and unpaid work, predominantly performed by women is grossly undervalued which reinforces income inequalities and hinders women’s economic progress. In high-income countries, the fact that women leave their jobs to attend to childcare responsibilities is responsible for 80% of the gender gap in employment, the report noted.
Unpaid care work contributes 9% to global GDP and, in some countries such as Australia, it is estimated to be responsible for more than 40% (GDP). However, paid care work accounts for over 11% of global employment with over 240 million women and 130 million men earning a living from it. This includes over 70 million home-based care workers.
In the US, the care sector, which is being fueled by increasing demands for childcare, elderly care, and household management, is valued at over US$640 billion.
Given the significance of the care economy and the challenges involved such as poor working conditions, the GEAC report urges the G7 countries to take the lead in transforming care services from being a burden to becoming a driver of economic development and growth. This, it says, should involve appreciating skills such as stress tolerance, problem-solving, collaboration, and emotional intelligence that are demonstrated by care sector workers.
The report stresses that recognizing the significance of care as an important element of the global workforce can contribute to gender equality and enhance stability in communities. This would include executing strategies such as paid family leave, advocating for better pay and working conditions, providing proper pension services for caregivers, and implementing significant investments in the care sector. Such plans would change care provision from being an onerous responsibility to becoming a profession for both men and women and therefore sustain economies and communities.
