Scoping the Australian care economy: a gender equity perspective

This research was commissioned by Security4Women in recognition of the significance of the care economy. The notion of the 'care economy' has arisen from feminist critiques of mainstream economics which traditionally only considered goods and services produced in the market economy as 'productive'. Looking at care work as an economic activity is a way of making women's work visible so that it can be valued. Encompassing both paid and unpaid work, the majority of care is provided by women with the erroneous assumption that the supply of care is infinitely forthcoming or elastic, whether it is paid or unpaid. Of importance is the tension between unpaid work in the home, voluntary work in the community, and paid work in the market as the time spent in each of these areas impacts on the amount of time available for the other two. The objectives of this project were to scope the Australian care economy by identifying recent literature to: (1) Examine how the care economy may be defined; (2) Identify the issues relevant to paid and unpaid care; (3) Collate a list of public policies which provide government support to the care economy; (4) Identify the impact of the care economy on women's economic wellbeing; (5) Research recent statistics on the Australian care economy; and (6) Identify gaps in the literature and areas for further research.