No matter who you are, you’ve received help from a nurse, teacher, social worker, caregiver, parent, family member or another paid or unpaid care worker at some point in your life. That’s why it might not come as a surprise that the U.S. care economy is estimated to be a $648 billion market. Despite this, the U.S. chronically devalues this work and is doing so to the detriment of its economy and future.
In a recent white paper, the World Economic Forum (WEF) outlines the care economy’s critical role in the health of a society and calls for immediate prioritization and strategic investment in the sector. The care economy covers a wide breadth of necessary social functions, both paid and unpaid, that go on to directly impact every industry. The WEF defines the scope of the care economy from a macroeconomic perspective as “a set of paid core activity sectors, such as health, education, and care and personal services, as well as unpaid activities, all of which impact the performance of every other sector, from technology to manufacturing.”
Despite our heavy reliance on care work—from educating the next generation to providing lifesaving emergency care—those who make up the majority of care workers are largely overworked, underrecognized and underpaid. Women care workers are the backbone of the care economy. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, women comprise 72.8% of workers in education, training and library occupations, 75.9% of healthcare practitioners and technical healthcare workers and 69.6% of all community and social service occupations. Moreover, two-thirds of unpaid care work is done by women, according to an analysis from the National Partnership for Women & Families. This unpaid labor, which includes childcare, household chores and elder care, among other tasks—is valued at over $1 trillion per year.
Although women handle a majority of paid and unpaid work caring for others, they themselves are struggling. According to research from economist Jennifer Cohen, women care workers are overworked and burned out, and even women who work in unrelated fields are limited by the disproportionate burden of unpaid household labor they carry. Cohen’s report highlights how this imbalanced gender division of labor leaves women shouldering most of the care work to the detriment of their health and wellbeing. For instance, her research notes how women acted as “shock absorbers” during the pandemic, picking up a greater portion of home-based care and household labor, a fact that helped ignite women’s unprecedented exit from the workforce.Additionally, despite the profound economic importance of the work of care professionals—like educating our future workforce and caring for young children so their parents can in turn go to work in tech, business, government and every other field—these same workers, including those in early childhood education and home healthcare, are severely underpaid. Cohen’s research further found that employers across every industry aren’t taking sufficient steps “to accommodate the realities of women’s lives.” This fact is a direct danger not only to the careers and economic health of women, but to these businesses and the economy at large. In other words, while the care economy may be built by women, it’s not built for women, and that fact is hurting everyone.
Women care workers are also underrepresented in the industry’s leadership roles; while women make up the majority of care workers, men still dominate the highest paid roles in care sectors, including healthcare, education and social services. This phenomenon—of women being overrepresented in entry-level roles and underrepresented in leadership positions—isn’t exclusive to care work—according to U.S. Census data, 56.5% of retail workers are women, yet women account for a mere 14% of retail Fortune 1000 CEOs. Similar trends can be seen in service and hospitality industries—in hospitality, women comprise 58% of the overall workforce, yet hold only 19% of C-Suite positions, according to the 2023 Women in Hospitality report.
Care workers are imminently critical to the continued health and growth of the U.S. economy, and it’s in businesses’ best interest to recognize that fact and act accordingly. This means recognizing the value of these professions, investing in them and paying care workers appropriately as well as making reasonable accommodations for all working parents. The disproportionate burden women carry when it comes to unpaid care and household labor may not be something the business world can solve—but it absolutely can ensure that women are set up to succeed at work.
There isn’t a single industry that doesn’t rely on both paid and unpaid care workers. If you need proof, simply recall the crisis working parents faced as schools and daycares closed during the pandemic or how many talented women subsequently quit or were pushed out of the workforce in large part due to the imbalanced division of household labor. If we don’t take steps to in turn care for care workers, the U.S. economy could quickly find itself in trouble again.
The U.S. is already embroiled in a prolonged teacher shortage with profound consequences, and according to McKinsey, the healthcare industry is facing a challenged year ahead as it contends with a catastrophic nursing shortage, lagging wages and the strains placed on workers by rapidly changing technology. These crises should be recognized as a direct threat to businesses spanning every industry. After all, it’s hard to think of any factors more critical to a nation’s economic success than the education, skills and health of its workforce. We all depend on care workers—the work they do is valuable and vital. It’s time business leaders start acting like it.