Research Report – WE-Care

Unseen work, unmet needs: Exploring the intersections of gender, race, and ethnicity in unpaid care labor and paid labor in the US

April 25, 2024

The study seeks to bring visibility to this work and underscore its significance in economic policy. The urgency of the project is highlighted by the recent social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has significantly affected unpaid care work, altering its distribution among men and women as well as across racial and ethnic groups. The paper also brings in the voices of the people who are holding crucial caregiving roles in their communities so readers can hear from individuals directly.

Reframing narratives around care and informal work in Kenya, the UK, and Zimbabwe: A synthesis of national research

February 5, 2024

This research study across three countries – Kenya, UK, and Zimbabwe – was carried out to identify the dominant narratives that influence public perceptions of care and informal work. It enabled the researchers to develop and test new narratives that could be used to improve public attitudes towards care and informal work.

US Care Policy Scorecard: Assessing federal unpaid and underpaid care policies in the US

July 29, 2023

The US Care Policy Scorecard demonstrates that federal UUCW policies are severely lacking, and the needs of caregivers and care workers are not being met by federal policies. It is women of color and immigrant women who are most harmed by the US’s failure to fully support working families, caregivers, and care workers.

Caring under COVID-19: How the pandemic is (and is not) changing unpaid care and domestic work responsibilities in the United States

July 29, 2020

The study reveals findings from a rapid poll exploring the gendered and racial impacts of COVID-19 on unpaid care work, which was part of MenCare: A Global Fatherhood Campaign. The report demonstrates how COVID-19 has brought an unprecedented crisis of care in the United States, with a particular workload being taken on by women as a group, and Black, Latinx, and Asian individuals.

Gendered patterns of unpaid care and domestic work in the urban informal settlements of Nairobi, Kenya: Findings from a Household Care Survey in 2019

November 19, 2019

In 2018–2019, Oxfam's Women's Economic Empowerment and Care (WE-Care) programme conducted a Household Care Survey (HCS) in five informal settlements of Nairobi, Kenya, to understand the gendered patterns of unpaid care and domestic work across these communities.

Gender roles and the care economy in Ugandan households: The case of Kaabong, Kabale, and Kampala districts

August 13, 2018

The report makes recommendations for the Ugandan government and relative authorities on how they can recognize, reduce and redistribute care work through policy changes, labour-saving devices and technology, better infrastructure and the provision of care services.

Understanding norms around the gendered division of labour: Results from focus group discussions in Zimbabwe

June 12, 2018

This report summarizes the main findings from the qualitative research conducted in August 2017 to support on the identification of the main social norms related to unpaid care and domestic work in rural communities in four districts in Zimbabwe. The research served to identify who the leaders are that communities look up to in order to validate social norms change.

Measuring unpaid care work in household surveys

June 6, 2018

This research case study discusses the successes and challenges of the time use measurements used in Oxfam’s Household Care Surveys. The surveys, supported by Oxfam’s Women’s Economic Empowerment and Care (WE-Care) programme, aimed to measure adults’ and children’s time spent on unpaid care work and other factors that could influence this distribution within the household.

Infrastructure and equipment for unpaid care work: Household survey findings from the Philippines, Uganda, and Zimbabwe

March 26, 2018

In 2017, Oxfam’s Women’s Economic Empowerment and Care (WE-Care) initiative conducted a Household Care Survey (HCS), collecting data in the Philippines, Uganda and Zimbabwe, to inform the design of public policies and local development programmes. The study tests which infrastructure, equipment and other factors influence care-work patterns.

Transforming care after conflict: How gendered care relations are being redefined in northern Uganda

December 17, 2017

This report assesses two evaluations of the project: a quantitative impact evaluation, which found that its economic empowerment activities in Kotido had a positive impact for women overall; and a qualitative follow-up study designed to dig deeper into the findings about care work as part of Oxfam’s Women’s Economic Empowerment and Care initiative (WE-Care).