The second day of the Transforming Care Systems forum convened stakeholders to advance a roadmap for Pakistan’s care economy, highlighting care services as central to achieving gender equality, broad-based economic growth, and social equity. Participants focused on how reimagining and investing in care infrastructure can boost women’s participation in the workforce, strengthen social protection, and create decent employment in the care sector.
Organized under the title Transforming Care Systems: A Roadmap for Economic Growth and Social Equity in Pakistan, the forum aims to translate the idea of a care economy into concrete policy and financing measures. Sessions explored ways to design integrated public policies, scale up service delivery, and mobilize public and private resources to expand accessible, affordable care services across the country.
Delegates included government officials, development partners, civil society organizations, care providers, academics, and private-sector representatives who discussed sector priorities such as workforce formalization, labour rights for care workers, and the collection of reliable data on unpaid and paid care work. Participants emphasized the need for multi-sectoral coordination to ensure that care policies intersect with labour, health, education, and social protection systems.
Key themes on day two centered on recognizing care as essential infrastructure that underpins economic productivity and social well-being. Conversations addressed how investment in care services can reduce unpaid care burdens that disproportionately fall on women, create decent jobs in the care sector, and promote inclusive economic participation. Proposals included expanding public provision of care, incentivizing private investment under regulatory safeguards, and strengthening training and social protections for care workers.
Organizers signaled that the forum seeks to produce a practical roadmap with policy recommendations, pilot initiatives, and mechanisms for resource mobilization and monitoring. By prioritizing care in national development strategies, stakeholders aim to build a more resilient, equitable economy that supports both social justice and sustained growth. Transforming care today, they said, is essential to achieving a stronger, fairer tomorrow.
