Unpaid Care Work: Another Dimension

 Momentum is building around advocacy on unpaid care work, a lot of the advocacy spearheaded by Women’s Rights Organisations (WROs) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) pushing for legislation and policy.

Defining Unpaid Care Work

The shallow definition of unpaid care work is engaging in domestic work or managing household responsibilities and chores which are our culture assign to women and girls within the household.

However, discussions are beginning to extend to the care for children, care for children with disabilities, care for persons with disabilities and the elderly

Dr Faustina Obeng, a Researcher on Social Policies at the University of Ghana, at a National Advocacy Strategy Workshop on unpaid care work organsied by NETRIGHT with the support of Alinea International, a development consultancy. Defined unpaid work as all activities done to care for others free of charge.

Dr Obeng however said care work even though not valued by some sections of society, was a very productive venture that needs to be valued

She said childbirth is of economic value for countries, citing examples of countries like Japan and Canada that are experiencing economic decline because of their population.

Dr Obeng said; “Countries like Japan and Canada have had to put in an immigration programme to get human resources from countries in Africa that still have higher populations.

She said the reproductive role of women therefore contributes directly to a productive and healthy population that generates productive value.

She said unpaid care wok contributes nine percent to global GDP and in Ghana it could go up to 30 percent which could be equal to 6.87 billion dollars per the 2024 GDP

Dr Obeng said care work should thus be recognised, responsibilities shared and rewarded to prevent the country having a care deficit.

Care work and Disability

Even though everybody benefits from care work in one way or the other, there are some vulnerable members of the population who depends on care work to survive.

Some persons with disability and parents of children with disabilities may need care workers to enable them function well and at their optimum.

A mother of a child with cerebral palsy who shared her experience said: “there are some paid care work which need to be backed by policies  and subsidies to support the vulnerable.

She said: “I depend of people I call care givers to thrive and get some respite, unfortunately, it is very difficult getting people to work as caregivers especially for children with disabilities.”

“My caregiver lives in my house, I pay her monthly and she feed three times a day, uses electricity, and not pay rent but I have to pay her out of pocket and also ensure she gets another support including catering for her health.”

She said there was the need to government and policy makers to put in place facilities and other social support systems such as subsidies, tax reliefs  among others to support families of children with disabilities in Ghana.

For example, a mother homeschooling a child with cerebral palsy may spend hours each day providing care, therapy, and learning support—work that would otherwise require paid professionals. Yet, she receives no financial compensation, social protection, or formal recognition.

For Ghanaian policymakers committed to inclusive development, gender equity, and poverty reduction, integrating unpaid care work into national planning is not just progressive—it is essential,” she added.

Unpaid care work contributes significantly to human development

Dr Naazia Ibrahim, a lecturer at the University of Development Studies, said unpaid care work is seen as essential for household stability and children’s well-being yet remained economically invisible and undervalued.

Unpaid care work is heavily gendered and undervalued limiting women’s empowerment, she added.

Participants at the workshop in formulating their advocacy strategies said there was the need for government to recognise care work as decent and valued work and integrate unpaid care work into national statistics through time-use surveys and gender-responsive budgeting.

There is also the need to reduce the burden of care by reclaiming the public nature of care through the introduction of policies such as tax reliefs for primary caregivers  especially parents of children with disabilities, introducing subsidies  for care work and reestablishing community based respite care services such as disability friendly facilities where parents of children with disabilities could drop off their children to enable them work and earn a living.

Subsidies could also be in a form of promoting flexible work arrangements, including paid family leave and remote work options for caregivers

 Advocacy

Unpaid care work is usually taken for granted in all policies, Dr Obeng said policy on care work is largely a technocratic process and there was the need to broaden participation in the policy formulation process.

There is also the need to flip the coin from the burden side of care to the value side of care

Participants at the workshop also committed to engage in public education campaigns to shift cultural norms and promote shared caregiving responsibilities among men and women.

Conclusion: A Call to Action

Unpaid care work is not a private issue—it is a public concern with national implications. By recognizing and supporting caregivers, Ghana can unlock human potential, reduce poverty, and build a more equitable society.

 Let us make care visible, valuable, and supported, care work is an economic necessity and  when caregivers thrive, Ghana thrives.