Reducing Women’s Vulnerabilities In The Care Economy: Recommendations From The Caribbean

Our policy brief highlights potential areas for policy making to reduce women’s vulnerabilities in the G20 countries. Drawing from empirical quantitative and qualitative research into social care, migration, and violence against women and girls, we present prospects for enhancing social equality and equity in the care economy. Focussing on the care of older persons, these macro- and micro-level studies yielded insights into the circumstances of providing care and the policy gaps. We present scenarios from the multicultural Caribbean where there is a high reliance on family and community care within a migration context to illustrate the wider consequences of undervaluing care work. While care providers typically come from within families, this practice increases the burden on women. Our recommendations include implementing flexible work hours in the public sector for professional women with care responsibilities; and the strengthening of social protections in the form of care grants for older persons with immigrant relatives.