Building Care Economies for Gender-Inclusive Growth: Leadership from the Global South

The care economy, which encompasses paid and unpaid activities related to childcare, eldercare, and domestic work, is critical for economic prosperity, social stability and equality. Globally, women perform approximately three times more unpaid care work than men, with this disparity rising to 11–12 times in developing economies. This directly limits women’s labour force participation, particularly in countries where employment opportunities for women are already limited, reinforcing existing gender and economic inequalities.

Recognising its employment potential of creating 300 million jobs by 2035, many countries from the Global South are bringing policy frameworks to incentivise investments in the care economy. As demographics and family structures evolve globally, investing in care economies becomes both a social justice issue and an economic necessity. The Global South’s innovative approaches offer valuable lessons to foster South–South cooperation.

Several countries showcase diverse approaches to building inclusive care systems. Argentina introduced the Universal Child Benefit in 2009 and established an Inter-Ministerial Committee for Care Policies. Vietnam has developed a comprehensive childcare system, with three types of childcare facilities. India has devised a national care economy strategy and is targeting 17000 publicly funded crèches by 2026. South Africa is implementing public–private partnerships in elderly care.

This discussion, based on a policy brief published under the South African G20 presidency in 2025 which proposed a five-pillar framework for strengthening care economies, will explore how developing countries can work together to create sustainable, equitable care systems.

• Which care economy models are actually working at scale and what would it take to replicate them across the Global South?
• Given prevailing financing bottlenecks, where should governments prioritise spending in the care economy, and what role can private capital play in this?
• What institutional platforms or mechanisms are needed to enable effective South–South knowledge sharing, capacity building, and policy transfer in care economy innovations?

Programme