The world’s care needs are increasing rapidly, yet unpaid work and unfair care arrangements are prevalent in many countries, according to a new report authored by the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council for the Future of the Care Economy.

The outlook explores the state of global care systems and the challenges that need to be overcome to build more efficient and equitable care systems.

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Ordinarily, the authors of the report noted, that tighter collaboration between government, businesses, and community stakeholders is needed to build out a strong care economy that can support prosperity and growth.

The context

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), there is one investment that yields incremental interest in the long term, and that is people.

As it stands, there are eight billion people (and counting), all of whom need looking after for the better part of their lives.

Food production, childrearing, community clinics, sanitation, schooling, physiotherapy, telehealth, and retirement homes, among many other processes and relationships, make up the vast and complex global care economy.

However, the report highlighted, that care goods, services, and infrastructure are insufficient, inaccessible, and unaffordable to large chunks of the global population.

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Equally concerning is the lack of recognition for care as a valuable component of social and economic life, the report said.

This, according to the 23-page report, is holding back care workers and caregivers from having decent work, accessing skilling opportunities, engaging without prejudice in care activities, participating fully in community life, and even caring for themselves.

The gap, challenges

The main challenge, according to the WEF, is an overreliance on unpaid care. Provided data indicate that close to two billion people in the world work as full-time caregivers but without pay.

This represents nine per cent of the global GDP, according to data from the International Labour Organization.

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The majority of care work is undertaken by women, with migrant women emerging as the face of the global care economy. Globally, women provide 2.5 times as many hours of unpaid care as men.

Another factor is the instability of the paid care sector. Despite rising demand for care, wages in the care sector are low. In some countries, care workers can be paid wages lower than 80 per cent of the country’s entire workforce.

At the same time, there is a gap in available care provision which can hold back unpaid caregivers from developing their skills and accessing employment opportunities, for example, parents caring for young children.

The International Labour Organization estimates that the childcare policy gap leaves 9 in 10 parents having to seek alternative care themselves — a situation that leads to primary caregivers, many of whom are women, dropping out of the workforce.

By 2030, the number of people aged 60 and older will increase by 40 per cent, and by 2050, it will double, according to the World Health Organization.

"This demographic shift will add to the already existing care access gap, creating more demand for care workers,” the report added.

Based on a study of seven Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries, the report indicates that investing two per cent of the GDP in the care industry could increase overall employment by 2.4 per cent to 6.1 per cent and create close to 22 million jobs. This is double what the same investment in construction would achieve.

Alongside public-sector commitment, the report’s authors said there is also an onus on private companies to help shape the future of the care economy.

"More companies offering care benefits for their employees will not only drive growth in the care sector but also lower sickness, absenteeism, and related productivity losses for businesses.

"However, the forum also suggests that businesses should take greater responsibility in the care economy, such as investing in care provision and contributing to technology innovation – in digital care for example.”