The care economy—the economic sectors that involve paid and unpaid care, including childcare, elder care, and health care—is one of the fastest expanding economic sectors globally. But the complex work involved in this crucial sector tends to be poorly understood, undervalued, and unprioritized. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought an increased focus on care, highlighting how the lack of support for care sectors and the increasing trend of financializing access to care have placed equality and health on fragile grounds during this crisis. This report highlights key policy and research insights on addressing the challenges in the care economy.

The year 2020 has shown us, perhaps more than ever, the truth of the phrase "if you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything." It's as true for companies as it is for ourselves. But, company health is not just financial. Increasingly, research shows that company resilience in the face of shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic is as much about trust as anything else: Trust in the eyes of customers, employees, regulators and other stakeholders who are important to a company's success. Trust-building - whether you call it corporate social responsibility or stakeholder management - has always been the smart thing to do, and even more so now.

The year 2020 has become the year of rollbacks in gender equality in Canada and around the world. Women, particularly those with children, as well as those who are racialized, Indigenous and/or low-income, are bearing the brunt of the economic fallout from COVID-19. Our local, provincial and federal governments must enact policies to redress this inequity. If not, we stand to lose not only the progress for gender equality that has been made over the last few decades — but also our chance for a resilient pandemic recovery.

We are in the midst of one of the greatest health and economic crises in more than a century. Policymakers and business leaders are struggling to figure out how we can get the economy back on track while at the same time keeping people safe. While we once had thought that the pandemic would be the great leveler because viruses don't see wealth or gender or race, it turns out that, in fact, COVID-19 has laid bare the economic and social inequalities in our society. In Canada, the people most likely to be affected by both the economic downturn and the threat of illness are those at the bottom of the income ladder, particularly women, Indigenous people and racialized minorities.

In Canada, the COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impacts on women, Two-Spirit and gender diverse people, particularly those who are low-income, people with disabilities, are members of the LGBTQ+ communities, belong to Indigenous, Black, or racialized communities or are newcomers, refugees, immigrants and migrants. More than half of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Canada have been experienced by women, yet at the same time women have faced disproportionate job loss, an increase in domestic violence due to lockdowns, and an intensification in unpaid work. YWCA Canada and The Institute for Gender and the Economy at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management have partnered to create a Feminist Economic Recovery Plan for Canada, which proposes a new path forward for Canada’s economy – one that focuses on changing the structures and barriers that have made some groups more vulnerable to the pandemic and its fallout than others. The report highlights 8 pillars for recovery with a focus on supporting the care economy, investing in social infrastructure and supporting women-owned businesses.

“Build back better” is an expression coined by a UN task force charged with coming up with improved disaster-recovery plans. For them, building back better meant using recovery after calamities—they were thinking of earthquakes, tsunamis, and hurricanes—to restore equitable social systems, revitalize livelihoods, and protect the environment. Don’t just rebuild houses—install clean water systems. Don’t just improve early warning systems— create safer roads and dwellings. For us in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, build back better means making good on the commitments to stakeholders that everyone was so eagerly talking about last year.

Investing with a gender lens can create financial and social impact by increasing women’s access to capital, promoting workplace equity, and creating products and services that improve the lives of women and girls.