As COVID-19 grips the world, market economy have shuttered, schools have closed, and nearly half of the global population is confined to their homes. Yet millions of care workers step out every day to keep the lights on and support those in need, for very low wages. Majority of these care workers are women – nurses, community health workers, nursing home staff, sanitation workers, laundry workers, and others – whose work has been serially undervalued and underpaid. This highlights a fundamental contradiction in our political economy; that we’ve put the least value on work that is most critical for survival of our economies, ecology and society.
Move towards a new care-compact to rebuild a gender equal Asia