国际劳工组织：缩小儿童保育政策差距可带来高额投资回报-英

 ILO Brief 1 The benefits of investing in transformative childcare policy packages towards gender equality and social justice  ILO Brief October 2023 The benefits of investing in transformative childcare policy packages towards gender equality and social justice  The widespread call for public investment in the care economy is grounded in multiple socio-economic benefits – including job generation with decent work; the reduction of intersecting inequalities, including gender inequalities; and improvements in health and well-being across populations – but also in the high potential return on investment for economies and societies.  Progress in closing legal and implementation gaps in care leave policies and services has not been sufficient as, currently, there exists a global average childcare policy gap of 4.2 years, which acts as a structural barrier in the world of work, especially for women.  It is estimated that every dollar invested in closing the childcare policy gap could result in an average increase of US$3.76 in global GDP by 2035. Regional and income group ROI estimates show that closing the childcare policy gap yields benefits for everyone, everywhere.  The investment benefit is not limited to the potential return on investment but also to the benefits related to gender equality. The investment in childcare-related leave and early childhood care and education (ECCE) services could increase women’s employment rate from a global average of 46.2 per cent in 2019 to 56.5 per cent in 2035, and reduce the global gender gap in monthly earnings from 20.1 per cent in 2019 to 8.0 per cent in 2035.  Persisting childcare policy gaps hamper the transformative agenda for gender equality and non-discrimination at work Investing in care policies yields multiple benefits The call for increased investments in the care economy is high on the international agenda (UN 2021a; UN 2021b; ILO 2021a; ILO 2019a). Recently, these demands have been backed by an increasing body of evidence showing that closing persisting gaps in care policies – in both law and practice – would not only accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, but also bring about socio-economic benefits in terms of job generation with decent work, reduction of gender and other inequalities, and improvements in health and well-being (Ilkkaracan et al. 2015; ITUC 2023; ITUC 2022; De Henau et al. 2016; ILO 2022a; ILO and UN Women 2021; ILO 2018a; UN ECLAC 2022; UN Women 2015). There is a strong employment generation case for investing in integrated and transformative care policy packages. Investing in childcare-related leave (maternity, paternity and parental leave), breastfeeding breaks, early childhood care and education (ECCE) and long-term care services would generate 280 million jobs by 2030 and a further 19 million by 2035, for a total of 299 million jobs Key highlights  ILO Brief 2 The benefits of investing in transformative childcare policy packages towards