Unpaid care work—ranging from raising children and tending to the elderly, to managing households and sustaining daily life—is the silent backbone of every economy. It is the hidden infrastructure sustaining growth and advancing climate ambitions, yet it remains absent from boardrooms and policy discussions. Behind every profit margin, policy target, and carbon reduction goal lies a silent workforce whose contributions continue to be consistently overlooked.

At the macroeconomic level, unpaid care is not merely a private responsibility; it is a structural barrier to inclusive growth. According to the annual Gender Snapshot 2024 report by UN Women and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA)—which provides fresh data and analysis on gender equality across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals—women continue to shoulder nearly three times as many hours of unpaid care as men. From raising children to caring for the elderly and sustaining households, women anchor economies, yet their immense contributions remain invisible.

This invisibility has significant consequences at the national level. In India, the Time Use Survey 2024 reveals persistent inequality: even as women participate in paid employment in greater numbers, they continue to bear a disproportionate share of caregiving. Every hour devoted to unpaid care limits opportunities for formal employment, skill development, and entrepreneurship. The result is widespread underutilization of talent, with millions of women excluded from the formal economy despite possessing the skills and ambition to contribute fully.

The costs of this exclusion extend far beyond individual households or national labour markets. Research by the McKinsey Global Institute indicates that advancing gender equality could boost global GDP as much as $12 trillion annually by 2025. The loss is not only economic—innovation also suffers when diverse voices are absent from science, technology, finance, and leadership. Yet, governments persits in framing care as a “social cost” rather than an economic investment, leaving vast potential untapped and growth opportunities unrealised.

Resilience in business, communities, and nations does not originate in boardrooms but in households and caregiving networks. Unpaid care underpins every other system, yet its value remains absent from the metrics that guide decision-making. Having witnessed women in my own family balance professional work with extensive caregiving responsibilities, I know how invisible this contribution remains despite its undeniable importance. Until it is counted and valued, commitments to gender equality, sustainable growth, and climate action remain incomplete.

Recognizing care work as a driver of progress is therefore essential to advancing equality, sustainability, and climate resilience. In India, expanding childcare and eldercare infrastructure through fiscal investment and community-based centres can reduce the disproportionate burden on women, generate employment, and raise labour force participation. Embedding care in economic policy is not social reform alone—it is a strategic investment in productivity, resilience, and national competitiveness.

The real question is this: How can societies shift from undervaluing care to treating it as the backbone of resilience and prosperity?

Details of the Writer:

Srishti Kansal

Consultant – Business Risk Advisory

Pierag Consulting LLP