Millions of women, young girls denied jobs, education as ITUC-Afraid demands urgent action

By Victor Ahiuma-Young

The African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation, ITUC-Africa, has raised the alarm over the growing care crisis across the continent, warning that millions of women and young girls are being denied employment, education and economic opportunities because of the disproportionate burden of unpaid care work placed on them.

The organisation called on African governments, the African Union (AU) and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to urgently invest in sustainable care systems, improve working conditions for care workers and introduce policies that recognise, reduce and redistribute unpaid care responsibilities.

In a statement issued to commemorate the International Day for Care and Support, ITUC-Africa General Secretary, Akhator Joel Odigie, said care work remained undervalued, underpaid and largely ignored in public policies and national budgets, despite its enormous contribution to the survival of economies and societies.

Marking the international day under the theme, “Building Sustainable Care and Support Systems Through Decent Work,” the organisation stressed that care work was indispensable to economic development and social wellbeing but continued to receive inadequate recognition and investment.

“Care sustains every economy and society. Yet paid and unpaid care work remains undervalued, underpaid and largely overlooked in public policy and national budgets, despite its vital social and economic contribution,” the statement declared.

ITUC-Africa expressed particular concern over the disproportionate burden borne by African women and girls, noting that women across the continent spend more than three times as many hours as men performing unpaid care work.

According to the organisation, the situation has become a major obstacle to women’s economic empowerment and participation in the labour market.

“More than one-third of African women outside the labour force are excluded from employment because of care responsibilities, compared with fewer than one in twenty men,” the statement disclosed.

It further warned that young women were particularly disadvantaged, especially in rural communities, where unpaid domestic and care responsibilities significantly restrict their access to education, vocational training and decent employment.

“In rural West Africa, they spend four times as many hours on unpaid care work as young men, limiting their opportunities to pursue education, access vocational training, secure decent jobs, and participate in trade unions,” ITUC-Africa stated.

The organisation said the situation was perpetuating gender inequality and reinforcing the economic exclusion of women, particularly those from poor and vulnerable households.

It also drew attention to the difficult conditions confronting millions of workers in the care economy, including domestic workers, community health workers, early childhood educators, nurses and home-based carers.

Many of these workers, most of whom are women and a significant number of whom are migrants, reportedly operate in the informal economy, earning poverty wages and working without adequate social protection.

They are also exposed to violence, harassment and other forms of workplace exploitation.

“Domestic workers, community health workers, early childhood educators, nurses and home-based carers, most of them women and many of them migrants, too often work informally, for poverty wages, without social protection, and exposed to violence and harassment,” the statement said.

In a particularly strong warning, ITUC-Africa argued that the poor treatment of care workers ultimately undermined the quality of services available to society.

“Poor working conditions for care workers mean poor quality care for everyone,” it emphasised.

The organisation further observed that Africa had the weakest care coverage in the world, even as demand for care services continued to rise due to population growth, urbanisation, the climate crisis and an increasingly ageing population.

Against this background, ITUC-Africa called for urgent government intervention to establish accessible, affordable and quality public care systems capable of addressing the growing needs of African societies.

It urged governments to invest in childcare, long-term care and health services, as well as essential infrastructure such as water, electricity and clean cooking facilities to reduce the amount of unpaid labour performed by women and girls.

The organisation also called for the implementation of the 5R framework for decent care work, alongside the 2024 International Labour Organisation (ILO) Resolution on Decent Work and the Care Economy, through comprehensive national care policies.

On labour rights and legal protection, ITUC-Africa urged African governments to ratify and implement key ILO conventions, including Convention No. 189 on Domestic Workers, Convention No. 156 on Workers with Family Responsibilities, Convention No. 183 on Maternity Protection, Convention No. 190 on Violence and Harassment, and Convention No. 102 on Social Security.

It maintained that the protection of care workers must go beyond policy declarations to guarantee decent wages, formal employment arrangements, safe working environments and comprehensive social protection.

“Guarantee decent work for all care workers: living wages, equal pay for work of equal value, formal contracts, safe workplaces, social protection, and the rights to organise and bargain collectively,” the organisation demanded.

ITUC-Africa also called for the extension of social protection to informal economy workers and unpaid carers, while urging governments to provide adequately funded paid parental leave for both women and men.

According to the organisation, addressing the care crisis requires a fundamental shift in how African societies distribute care responsibilities, finance care services and recognise the contributions of those who provide essential care.

It argued that care responsibilities should not continue to fall disproportionately on women, particularly when such arrangements prevent them from securing decent employment, advancing their education and participating fully in public and economic life.

Reaffirming the labour movement’s commitment to addressing the challenges, ITUC-Africa pledged to intensify efforts to organise care workers, particularly young women and workers in the informal economy, to strengthen their collective voice and improve their working conditions.

“ITUC-Africa commits to organising care workers, especially young women and workers in the informal economy, to give them a stronger collective voice, and to keep care at the heart of our struggle for social justice on the continent,” the statement said.

The statement added with a renewed call for African governments and regional institutions to place care work at the centre of their development priorities.

The organisation maintained that building sustainable care and support systems through decent work was not merely a labour rights issue but a critical requirement for achieving gender equality, economic inclusion and social justice across Africa.

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