How countries strive to move beyond GDP and capture the value of invisible work

This report discusses the limitations of GDP in capturing the 'care economy'—the unpaid work, primarily performed by women, that sustains society. It highlights that women perform over 16 billion hours of unpaid care daily and argues for a cohesive, integrated system of measurement beyond isolated time-use surveys to properly value this contribution within national prosperity frameworks.

• GDP is an insufficient indicator of prosperity because it ignores the 'care economy,' which includes essential tasks like community engagement, volunteering, and household activities often performed by women.
• Women are estimated to perform more than 16 billion hours of unpaid care work every day, encompassing chores and the care of children, the sick, or the elderly.
• Current efforts to move beyond GDP using complementary metrics for health, inequality, or environmental sustainability still frequently fail to fully account for contributions vital to society, particularly those by women. The document suggests moving from individual tools like time-use surveys toward a cohesive, integrated measurement system.

APA

(CIPPEC),, L. B. D. (. C. S. (2026). How countries strive to move beyond GDP and capture the value of invisible work. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/measure-of-care-economy-beyond-gdp

Chicago

(CIPPEC),, Livia Bizikova,Vanesa D’Alessandre (CIPPEC),Florencia Caro Sachetti. How countries strive to move beyond GDP and capture the value of invisible work. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2026. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/measure-of-care-economy-beyond-gdp.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=(CIPPEC), |first1=Livia Bizikova,Vanesa D’Alessandre (CIPPEC),Florencia Caro Sachetti |title=How countries strive to move beyond GDP and capture the value of invisible work |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=4 March 2026 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/measure-of-care-economy-beyond-gdp |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cippec2026how, author = {(CIPPEC),, Livia Bizikova,Vanesa D’Alessandre (CIPPEC),Florencia Caro Sachetti}, title = {{How countries strive to move beyond GDP and capture the value of invisible work}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2026}, month = mar, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/measure-of-care-economy-beyond-gdp}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }