Care economy in the Arab Region

The recognition of importance of the care economy is growing in the Arab region where ensuring availability of and access to quality care for elderly, children and people with disabilities can be challenging due to various factors such as demographic shifts, economic and political instabilities, and changing patters of family structure. The Arab region also relies heavily on international migrant domestic workers for the provision of care especially at home and ensuring decent work for migrant domestic workers has been a challenge. Working with its constituents, UN agencies and development partners, the ILO in Arab region has initiated important work in the care economy.

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Facts and figures

• The ILO Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183)  and the related Recommendation (No. 191)  mandate a minimum maternity leave period of 14 weeks, yet few countries in the region meet this threshold. At the current pace of legal reforms, it will take at least 70 years for the remaining countries in MENA, where nearly 80 million potential mothers live, to fill the current gaps and align to ILO standards on maternity leave.
• A continuum of care leave policies and care services is essential to guarantee the best early start for children and income security for families, as well as ensuring long-term care services for elderly and disabled persons. The ILO estimates that investing in childcare and long-term care services in 12 MENA countries (Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and United Arab Emirates) will generate almost 6 million jobs by 2035, of which 5.1 million correspond to direct jobs in childcare, almost 5.3 million to direct jobs in long-term care, and 2.6 million to indirect jobs in non-care sectors. For more info: Care at Work Investing in Care Leave and Services for a More Gender Equal World of Work Companion Regional Report for the Middle East and North Africa 
• Adequate investment in childcare is especially critical - every dollar spent on a care package that extends adequately paid childcare-related leave as well as early childhood care and education services would result in around 3 dollars of GDP increase.
• Many jobs in the care sector have significant decent work deficits, including poor remuneration, lack of social protection and restrictions on workers to form trade unions. This is particularly the case for the region’s 6.6 million domestic workers. The sector represents a significant proportion of employment in the region, accounting for 12.3 per cent of total employment, but in some cases accounts for between a fifth and a quarter of the labour force.

• The ILO Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183)  and the related Recommendation (No. 191)  mandate a minimum maternity leave period of 14 weeks, yet few countries in the region meet this threshold. At the current pace of legal reforms, it will take at least 70 years for the remaining countries in MENA, where nearly 80 million potential mothers live, to fill the current gaps and align to ILO standards on maternity leave.
• A continuum of care leave policies and care services is essential to guarantee the best early start for children and income security for families, as well as ensuring long-term care services for elderly and disabled persons. The ILO estimates that investing in childcare and long-term care services in 12 MENA countries (Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and United Arab Emirates) will generate almost 6 million jobs by 2035, of which 5.1 million correspond to direct jobs in childcare, almost 5.3 million to direct jobs in long-term care, and 2.6 million to indirect jobs in non-care sectors. For more info: Care at Work Investing in Care Leave and Services for a More Gender Equal World of Work Companion Regional Report for the Middle East and North Africa 
• Adequate investment in childcare is especially critical - every dollar spent on a care package that extends adequately paid childcare-related leave as well as early childhood care and education services would result in around 3 dollars of GDP increase.
• Many jobs in the care sector have significant decent work deficits, including poor remuneration, lack of social protection and restrictions on workers to form trade unions. This is particularly the case for the region’s 6.6 million domestic workers. The sector represents a significant proportion of employment in the region, accounting for 12.3 per cent of total employment, but in some cases accounts for between a fifth and a quarter of the labour force.