Making Care Count: A Vision for Inclusive Care Economies

This document is a keynote address by Dr Basani Baloyi of the Institute for Economic Justice to the G20 Empowerment of Women Working Group. It argues that the care economy is the essential foundation of all economic activity and calls for G20 nations to transition from a model where care is invisible and undervalued to one where it is recognized as a public good and a driver of inclusive economic growth.

• Unpaid care work represents a massive, invisible contribution to the global economy. If compensated at market rates, it would equal 9% of global GDP, or approximately 11 trillion dollars annually, which exceeds the total GDP of China. In Brazil, women's caregiving work subsidizes the economy by at least 10.8 trillion dollars per year, with 92% of women aged 14 or older performing these tasks and spending 9.6 more hours per week on them than men.
• Strategic investment in the care economy offers significant economic returns and job creation. A 1.3 trillion USD investment in social jobs in the United States could generate a 3.1 trillion dollar GDP return and over ten million jobs. Globally, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) projects that investing in childcare and long-term care could create 203 million jobs by 2035, comprising 56 million in childcare, 100 million in long-term care and support, and 47 million indirect jobs.
• Demographic shifts necessitate urgent care infrastructure investment. By 2030, 100 million children and over 2.3 billion adults will require care services. By 2050, 80% of the world's elderly population will reside in low- and middle-income countries, many of which currently lack the necessary infrastructure.
• Brazil and South Africa are leading G20 efforts to formalize care economy policies. Brazil introduced a bill for a National Caregiving Policy developed by twenty ministries, states, municipalities, and academic institutions. South Africa's G20 presidency focuses on three priorities: developing policy perspectives on paid and unpaid care work, promoting financial inclusion for women, and addressing femicide and gender-based violence.
• The ILO's 5R framework provides a roadmap for care economy transformation: Recognise care work in policy; reduce the burden via technology and infrastructure; redistribute responsibilities between genders and between families and the state; represent care workers in decisions; and reward work through social protection and decent wages.

APA

Baloyi, B. (2025). Making Care Count: A Vision for Inclusive Care Economies. Institute for Economic Justice. https://iej.org.za/2025/07/making-care-count_a-vision-for-inclusive-care-economies/

Chicago

Baloyi, Basani. Making Care Count: A Vision for Inclusive Care Economies. Institute for Economic Justice, 2025. https://iej.org.za/2025/07/making-care-count_a-vision-for-inclusive-care-economies/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Baloyi |first1=Basani |title=Making Care Count: A Vision for Inclusive Care Economies |publisher=Institute for Economic Justice |date=1 July 2025 |url=https://iej.org.za/2025/07/making-care-count_a-vision-for-inclusive-care-economies/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{baloyi2025making, author = {Baloyi, Basani}, title = {{Making Care Count: A Vision for Inclusive Care Economies}}, publisher = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2025}, month = jul, url = {https://iej.org.za/2025/07/making-care-count_a-vision-for-inclusive-care-economies/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }