The Case for Care: Catalysing Investments Into the Care Economy in South and Southeast Asia
Across Asia and the Pacific, women perform more than four times the unpaid care work done by men, and this difference accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the market size and investment potential of the care sector is growing.
This paper is written primarily for investors. It seeks to increase interest in, and drive capital allocation to, the growing care economy (and, particularly, childcare and eldercare) in South and Southeast Asia.
Most notably, it presents the range of care business models that meet the interests and appetites of a wide range of investors, offers a framework for investors to understand the opportunities available to them in the care economy, and presents entry points for investors to start investing in the care economy today.
This research was conducted by Value for Women in collaboration with the UN Women Regional Office for
Asia and the Pacific.
This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ottawa, Canada, and was supported [in part] by the Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF).
A seasoned international development professional, Sarah brings to Value for Women her prior experience successfully leading a broad range of initiatives for non-governmental organizations, the government of Rwanda and consultancies, with a focus on gender, equality and women’s rights, and economic empowerment. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Sussex, and a Master’s in Education, Gender and International Development from the University of London.
Seema is a development economist with research and policy experience in global development issues, including global economic governance; trade; climate chaos; health; gender; organizational strengthening and strategy; diversity and inclusion; and research and research networks. Seema has a PhD in Economics and Business and an MSc in Development Economics and Policy, both from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom.
As CEO and Co-founder of Value for Women, Rebecca has spearheaded the growth of the organization into a globally recognized leader in gender-inclusive business practice. With over 20 years of global expertise, Rebecca leads Value for Women in its efforts to design innovative gender-inclusion products and methods, working hand-in-hand with investors, businesses, banks, financial institutions, development organizations, and corporate foundations.
Luis leads Value for Women's advisory services, strategy and a global team of consultants and advisors. Prior to his work at Value for Women, Luis led research on unpaid care work and time-use data for the United Nations Foundation. From Mexico, Luis has worked extensively in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and Southeast Asia. He holds a BSc degree in Business Administration from Boston University’s Questrom School of Business and a Master's degree in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, USA.
Trina drives project delivery and planning for various projects related to applied research and technical assistance for investors and enterprises, at Value for Women. Trina brings almost a decade of rich experience in gender inclusion and public policy. Prior to joining Value For Women, she worked in advisory services at Intellecap Advisory Services and PRS Legislative Research.
