Investing in the care services sectors for employment generation and gender-inclusive growth: the case of Turkey

The care crisis intersects with economic, social, and refugee crises, necessitating focusedattention to bolster care infrastructure and address the multifaceted challenges. Women beara disproportionate burden of unpaid domestic work, exacerbating gender inequalities inlabor markets and education. This paper applies the International Labour Organization-UNWomen (2021) policy tool to Turkish data, estimating coverage gaps in education andhealthcare, associated costs, and employment generation potential in the care sectors andrelated sectors. We identify a coverage gap in education affecting 5.8 million children. Therequired investment to address this gap is estimated at 2.28 percent of gross domesticproduct (GDP). In all, 303,000 healthcare workers are needed, requiring an investment of1.23 percent of GDP. These investments have the potential to generate 1.740 million directand 152,000 indirect jobs. This would result in a substantial 6.7 percent increase in totalemployment. Considering the current gender composition, women are expected to fill 65percent of these jobs, leading to a 14 percent improvement in female employment.Incorporating 3.7 million Syrian refugees, Turkey's investment cost rises to 3.74 percent ofGDP, creating 1.878 million new direct jobs-an 8 percent boost over the non-inclusivescenario. Prioritizing public investments in care services promises to promote genderequality, human development, and inclusive economic growth.