Now is the Time! Reduce and redistribute the unpaid domestic and care work burden of women for sustainable development

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Now is the Time! Reduce and redistribute the unpaid domestic and care work burden of women for sustainable development

March 5, 2018

While both men and women engage in informal work, women make up most of the population engaging in vulnerable employment – namely unpaid family work and own account workers. More women and young girls with education are entering the labour market yet they continue to bear a disproportionate amount of unpaid household chores and family care work. This is largely considered a woman’s ‘natural’ responsibility.

This paper focalizes around Sustainable Development Goal 5.4 (SDG5.4); that reducing and redistributing 'women’s unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility…' can help to tackle some of the issues presented above. It is important to remember that there is no magic bullet. Rather, this paper hopes to use data and examples from the Asia Pacific region to identify the areas of investment that governments could consider in order to achieve sustainable development through the promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women and girls.  

Regions and Countries