are work, as old as humanity itself, sustains life and enables economic productivity across all societies. It involves meeting the physical, psychological and emotional needs of others, whether or not they have disabilities or are sick, and includes self-care.

Care work is both paid and unpaid. Paid care workers include professional caregivers such as nurses, doctors, teachers, childcare workers, home health aides, domestic workers, eldercare workers, social workers and therapists. Unpaid care work is often done without monetary reward, typically by family members, especially women. Other than the direct care of children, the elderly, sick relatives or people with disabilities, it also includes household tasks such as cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping for groceries, support activities such as collecting water and firewood, household planning and management and community work.

According to the ILO, there are an estimated 381 million care jobs globally, representing about 11.5 percent of total employment worldwide. This number includes all workers in health, education, social work and domestic work sectors. Unpaid care work contributes an estimated $11 trillion to the global economy annually, accounting for approximately 9 percent of the worldwide GDP.

Women perform over three-fourths (76 percent) of the unpaid care work globally. This stark gender disparity is a significant barrier to gender equality. On average, women spend 4 hours and 25 minutes per day on unpaid care work; men spend only 1 hour and 23 minutes per day on unpaid care work. This abundance of unpaid care work creates ‘time poverty’ where women have less time to access economic opportunities, education, paid work and personal or public activities.

This article examines the current state of social protection for care workers in Pakistan and recommends some actions for strengthening legal and institutional mechanisms to ensure decent work for this essential workforce.

In Pakistan, the burden of unpaid care work is predominantly borne by women. According to UN Women, women and girls spend 20 percent of their time on unpaid care and domestic work, compared to 1.8 percent by men. Recent analysis based on LFS data shows that women spend approximately 3 hours per day on non-market care and domestic work. A study by Pakistan Institute of Development Economics shows that when both market and non-market activities are taken into account, men spend 4.7 hours while women spend 3.5 hours per day on work. It is just that women’s work is not economically counted. Some other studies have highlighted that women spend around 6 hours per day on unpaid care work, which translates to a monthly contribution of Rs 35,000 rupees (180 hours per month valued at 192 rupees per hour). It must, however, be added that the above costing is done based on minimum wage for unskilled work, while the unpaid women care workers are generally........

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