ILO Calls for Recognition and Reform in Pakistan’s Care Economy as 117 Million Engage in Unpaid Work
ISLAMABAD (ILO News) – Over 117.4 million women and men in Pakistan are engaged in unpaid care and domestic work, with women making up the overwhelming majority — 66.7 million. As the world marks the International Day of Care and Support, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has urged Pakistan to strengthen recognition of care work and take coordinated action to ensure decent work, social protection, and equality for all care workers.
Women remain overrepresented in nearly all unpaid domestic and caregiving roles — from cooking and cleaning to child and elder care, and livestock tending. Around 60 per cent of women spend more than 15 hours per week on domestic work, compared to just 7 per cent of men. This imbalance leads to time poverty and lost economic opportunities for women, restricting their entry and advancement in the paid care sector while reinforcing the gender pay gap.
Globally, women constitute two-thirds of the health workforce but earn, on average, 20 per cent less than men and remain underrepresented in leadership roles.
The ILO’s Decent Work Country Programme (2023–2027) identifies domestic, home-based, sanitation, and community health workers as priority groups for enhanced rights, protections, and gender-responsive workplaces.
Geir Tonstol, Country Director for ILO Pakistan, stated, “The ILO in Pakistan aims to transform care work into decent work, providing care workers with dignity, fair wages, and comprehensive social protection. As a pathfinder country to the Global Accelerator for Jobs and Social Protection, Pakistan has the opportunity to scale up domestic investments — creating a virtuous cycle where decent jobs and stronger social protection foster more resilient economies and just societies.”
Through the ILO–OECD–WHO Working for Health (W4H) initiative, the organization is supporting Pakistan to integrate occupational safety and health (OSH) standards into healthcare regulation, improve working conditions, and strengthen workforce capacity.
The government’s National Health Vision pledges to raise the health sector’s GDP allocation to 3% by the next decade, an investment that could help create safer workplaces, improve professional training, and retain skilled healthcare workers. Together with the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (MoNHSR&C), the ILO is also working to develop a national OSH policy for the health sector as part of progress toward Universal Health Coverage.
Recent progress includes the registration of the United Domestic Workers Federation in Punjab under the ILO’s Promoting Rights and Social Inclusion (PRS) Project, supported by the Government of Japan. The project has strengthened representation for domestic workers and encouraged constructive dialogue between employers and employees.
“The PRS Project has given voice and visibility to domestic workers in Punjab,” said Arooma Shahzad, General Secretary of the Federation. “The registration of the Domestic Workers Employers Association and the development of a Code of Conduct for employers are concrete steps showing employers’ willingness to engage on this critical issue.”
To sustain reform in Pakistan’s care sector, the ILO calls for coordinated policy action, including minimum education and training standards, lifelong learning access, career progression pathways, fair wages, safe workplaces, adequate rest periods, and comprehensive social protection, particularly for women and informal workers.
The ILO’s 5R Framework—to Recognize, Reduce, Redistribute, Reward, and Represent care work—remains central to addressing unpaid labour and building a fair, inclusive care economy. Pakistan’s adoption of this framework could ensure greater dignity and equality for millions of care workers nationwide.
