India’s current GDP stands at $3.7 trillion, though this figure largely overlooks the ‘care economy,’ which remains mostly unmonetized. A 2% GDP investment in this sector could create 11 million new jobs, with women potentially filling 35% of these roles.
Care Economy vs. Monetized Economy
- The care economy includes unpaid, informal caregiving like childcare, eldercare, and domestic work, primarily done by women.
- In contrast, the monetized economy is driven by profit through the exchange of goods and services.
- Empowering women is key to integrating the largely unmonetized care sector into the formal economy.
Strategies to Integrate the Care Economy into the Monetized Economy:
- Recognize Unpaid Work: Acknowledge the economic contribution of unpaid care work.
- Equal Pay for Equal Work: Ensure fair pay in both care and monetized sectors.
- Social Protection: Implement policies such as paid parental leave, remote work options, subsidized healthcare, and pensions to support women balancing work and caregiving.
- Support Women’s Employment: Enhance access to formal employment through skill training, education, and work-life balance policies.
- Promote Women’s Entrepreneurship: Encourage women to start and expand businesses, especially in care-related fields.
- Income Generation through Self-Help Groups: Facilitate activities that allow women to earn.
- Elderly and Healthcare Services: Develop jobs in healthcare, including nursing, geriatric, and other support services.
- Accessible Childcare Services: Provide affordable, high-quality childcare to enable women’s workforce participation.
- Cultural Shift: Challenge gender stereotypes and recognize the value of both paid and unpaid work.
As India aims to achieve developed-nation status by 2047, integrating the contributions of its female population into the mainstream economy is vital. This shift will also advance Sustainable Development Goal 5, promoting gender equality.
