Get Guardian on GoogleThe African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa) has warned that the disproportionate burden of unpaid care work on women and girls is restricting their access to employment, education and vocational training across the continent.
In a statement marking the 2026 International Day of Care and Support, celebrated under the theme: ‘Building Sustainable Care and Support Systems Through Decent Work,’ the General Secretary of the labour body, Joel Odigie, said more than one-third of African women outside the labour force were excluded from employment because of care responsibilities, compared with fewer than one in 20 men.
ITUC-Africa also disclosed that women in Africa spend more than three times as many hours as men on unpaid care work, a disparity, it said, reinforced gender inequality and limited women’s economic opportunities.
The organisation said the persistent undervaluation of paid and unpaid care work, despite its contribution to economic productivity and social wellbeing, reflected governments’ failure to adequately prioritise care services in public policies and national budgets.
It warned that young women were particularly disadvantaged, noting that in rural West Africa, they spend four times as many hours on unpaid care work as young men.
According to the organisation, the burden limits young women’s ability to pursue education, acquire vocational skills, secure decent employment and participate in trade union activities.
The statement also drew attention to the poor working conditions of domestic workers, community health workers, early childhood educators, nurses and home-based carers, many of whom are women and migrant workers.
It said many care workers remained trapped in informal employment, earning poverty wages and working without social protection, while facing violence and harassment.
It lamented that poor working conditions for care workers lead to poor-quality care for everyone, while stressing the need to improve employment standards across the care economy.
ITUC Africa further warned that Africa has the weakest care coverage globally, and that demand for care services is expected to rise because of population growth, urbanisation, climate change and an ageing population.
To address the challenges, the organisation called on African governments, the African Union and Regional Economic Communities to invest in accessible, quality public care systems, including childcare, long-term care and health services.
It also urged governments to improve access to water, energy and clean cooking facilities to reduce the time women and girls spend on unpaid domestic responsibilities.
The organisation called for implementing the International Labour Organisation’s five-part framework for transforming care work, known as the 5R framework, alongside its 2024 Resolution on Decent Work and the Care Economy.
The framework seeks to recognise, reduce and redistribute unpaid care work while rewarding care workers and ensuring their representation.
ITUC Africa also urged African countries to ratify and implement key ILO conventions covering domestic workers, workers with family responsibilities, maternity protection, violence and harassment, and social security.
It specifically identified Conventions 189, 156, 183, 190 and 102 as important instruments for strengthening workers’ rights and expanding social protection.
The organisation also demanded living wages, equal pay for work of equal value, formal employment contracts, safe workplaces, social security coverage, and protection of workers’ rights to organise and bargain collectively.
It called for extending social protection to informal economy workers and unpaid carers, alongside adequately funded parental leave for both women and men.
