Formalising care work can pay gender justice dividends

Jul 20, 2024 09:14 PM IST

That said, signs of change are visible, and Indian women certainly have come a long way from the earlier reality. In the recent general election, women voters turned out in equal numbers to men. As per the WEF Global Gender Gap Report, India has made strides in educational attainment and health, with index scores in the high 90s out of 100. However, the overall ranking shows the persistence of deep-seated economic inequalities. Addressing these will not only improve the lives of women and girls but also drive economic growth for all Indians.

There is an approach through which we can hit two birds with one stone — freeing women and girls from unpaid labour and creating new jobs to grow the economic pie for everyone. This unique opportunity lies in the formalisation of the nascent Indian care economy. Women in paid employment take on around six times more unpaid care work than employed men, according to a recent strategy paper. This unpaid work is estimated to account for 15-17% of India’s GDP. Tied up at home, this prevents women from working and a more formalised care sector materialising.

The opportunity here is vast. Recent estimates suggest that an investment of just 2% of GDP in the care economy could yield 11 million new jobs for India. Such enormous societal shifts require a rare ‘trifecta effect’ where market, social, and political forces align to drive deep and sustainable change.

India is no stranger to such shifts. Our remarkable march towards financial inclusion is one example of this rare ‘trifecta effect’. Let us learn from this blueprint and write the next chapter of women’s economic empowerment in India by applying it to the care economy. Almost a decade ago, the government’s Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) programme set the guardrails, prioritising the establishment of individual bank accounts over household accounts. This was a crucial gender-responsive adjustment to previous programmes. At that time, just 43% of Indian women had a bank account.

PMJDY allowed the private sector to compete on a level playing field. The government set the rules of play, and then it was upon the private sector to innovate. Fintech start-ups and traditional banks began competing for a new customer base to grow their operations. At the same time, civil society came together to improve digital literacy among women and girls and expand access to mobile phones. The ‘trifecta effect’ was in full force, allowing India to leapfrog developed nations on universal financial inclusion.

We have yet to realise the opportunities unlocked by the powerful trifecta of government, market, and civil society when it comes to the care economy. There is impressive momentum generated by India’s civil society. Organisations like Mobile Crèches, the Self Employed Women’s Association, CHETNA, and many more are leading the way with innovative approaches to formalising a care economy. Yet the private sector is lagging behind. As one example, in privatised childcare, there are still outdated curricula and meals lacking nutrition. Here, there is a need for government to set the guardrails and encourage further innovation and growth.

For India, the care economy is the promise of another leapfrog moment. The latest data from the WEF should provide us with the impetus to tackle this enormous task.

Shagun Sabarwal is regional director (Asia), Co-Impact. The views expressed are personal