Economics of Care: Recognizing its Value in Social and Economic Settings

Abstract

Care labour is the cornerstone of all societal and economic activities of the nation. It is present in the society in both paid and unpaid settings. It is a gendered job whose burden lies mostly on women as it is presumed to be their innate quality to care and caress. It is the foundation of wellbeing in a society yet the most persistently undervalued and overlooked economic activity. The present research delves into the details of care labour and its associated problems. It also considers the feministic themes on gendered nature of care labour. This study highlights the disproportionate burden of care work on women, its unpaid nature, worker’s physical and emotional burnout, financial instability of the workers, lack of equipment for protection of workers, lack of recognition and acknowledgement of the work. At last, this study argues that it's not just the moral implication to recognize, value, acknowledge and redistribute care work but it is also a socio-economic need to explore its potency to the fullest and make it a strategic sector.