Care economy refers to the unpaid or underpaid activities performed within households and communities such as childcare, elderly care, household maintenance, and emotional labour. In contrast, the monetized economy includes all paid economic activities that generate income
Key Features of the Care Economy:
Human-Centered
Labour-Intensive
Majorly Informal Sector
Bringing Care Economy into Monetized Economy through Women Empowerment
Raising investment in the care economy to 2% (>1% current) can generate 11 million jobs for women.
Draw lessons from Japan’s womenomics for boosting female labour participation.
Encourage PPP models and CSR initiatives to expand affordable care infrastructure.
Skill Development and Certification in childcare, geriatric care, nursing, early education, nutrition.
Formalisation of Care Services by expanding creches, Anganwadis, elderly care centres, community caregiving services.
Promotion of Women-led Care Entrepreneurship such as day-care centres, tiffin services by providing credit, digital platforms, SHG support, and market linkages.
Social Protection- Recognising care work under minimum wage laws and social security frameworks.
Digital platforms like online caregiving services, home-nursing apps, domestic work registries help women monetise care skills.
Investments in time-saving infrastructure such as clean cooking fuel, piped water, and public transport can increase FLFPR in the formal economy.
Adopting the 3R Framework (Recognize, Reduce and Redistribute) can help realise SDG 5.4.