Unpaid care work, performed mostly by women around the world, is a key piece of the empowerment puzzle: it entrenches the subordination of women in society but, at the same time, it is indispensable for economic growth and human wellbeing. In Sharing the load, we outline key recommendations to governments around unpaid care work.

Stepping up: How governments can contribute to women’s economic empowerment

Government economic policy shapes women’s lives, and could be a force for equality, yet too often this potential is not realised. In Stepping up, we argue that governments must play a central role in achieving women’s economic empowerment; that their priority should be to tackle the underlying barriers to economic empowerment, particularly those faced by marginalised women; and that it is in the area of economic policy that government action will have most transformative impact.

We briefly examine the CSW61 theme of the changing world of work, then consider macroeconomic policy, decent work, unpaid care, corporate accountability and women’s voices in decision-making. Our briefing concludes with specific recommendations that governments can take – at CSW in March or beyond – to promote the economic empowerment of all women.

The Stepping up recommendations, which focus on the upcoming CSW61, are also available to read separately.