Note for Equality N°30: The care economy as an accelerator of the structural change with equality
The progress towards a development agenda based on economic, social and environmental sustainability must incorporate the concept of care to ensure a structural change within the framework of inclusive growth. As ECLAC has stated, it is necessary to move from the culture of privilege to the culture of equality, and place emphasis on new forms of distribution (of time and other resources), incorporating essential aspects for the reproduction of life, such as care work.
Investment in care policies generates a virtuous circle with a positive impact on employment for men and women. In the medium and long term, investment in the care sectors produces positive externalities on the level of education of the workforce, since the provision of public and social care infrastructure reduces educational inequalities that affect girls and boys. At the same time, in the short term, the professionalization and certification of those who get paid in the care sector increases their work capacities, salaries and productivity. Also, if the sector is regulated and formalized, pension and social protection systems are strengthened, which helps to avoid impoverishment of women in old age.