Public Investments in Nepal’s Care Economy

This brief, which is an outcome of the UN Women-ILO Joint Programme, argues that macroeconomic policies play a key role in promoting the distribution of income and access to decent work opportunities for women. Investments in care services allow for the redistribution and reduction of unpaid care work and address time poverty, enabling women to participate in the labour force while also creating direct and indirect decent work opportunities in Nepal’s care economy. The brief is based on a global tool, “A Guide to Public Investments in the Care Economy: Policy Support Tool for Estimating Care Deficits, Investment Costs and Economic Returns,” as prepared by Ipek Ilkkaracan in 2021. It is referred to as the ‘policy tool on care’ in this brief.