Jayati Ghosh: The public value of care and the politics of women's work

As part of the lecture series between UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) and the British Library, Jayati Ghosh discusses the public value of care services
https://www.bl.uk/events/the-public-v...

Care services are taken for granted, unrecognised and unsung in almost all societies. But they contribute hugely to public value: to social well-being, cohesion and stability and to the progress of the economy and its future potential – even though that contribution is missing in the national accounts. Care work is fundamentally relational, which means that it is less likely to be affected by new technologies that replace human labour. So care employment is likely to be a big job generator in the future, particularly if it is provided through decent work engaged in by qualified professionals.

Investment in care improves people’s welfare, and also has large multiplier effects that generate much greater employment directly and indirectly than investment in infrastructure. Currently, most care work is performed by unpaid and underpaid women, especially in developing societies, which unfortunately affects social attitudes to all work done by women as well as all care work. This needs to change to create happier and more equal societies. Public policy is crucial in determining the extent, coverage and quality of care services as well as the conditions of care workers. The focus has to be on the five Rs: recognise, reward, reduce, redistribute care work and ensure representation of care workers.

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Rethinking Public Value and Public Purpose in 21st Century Capitalism is a lecture series presented by UCL’s new Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose in collaboration with the British Library.
https://www.bl.uk/events/rethinking-p...

Featuring luminaries from the worlds of arts, economics, architecture and design and policymaking, it considers the role of the public sector in today’s capitalist world and asks what partnerships are needed to address societal and technological challenges? How can public spaces be designed to create more democratic participation and new forms of learning and exploration? Does public necessarily mean free? Can the digital revolution create a new type of public realm?
Speakers include Richard Rogers, Stephanie Kelton, Jayati Ghosh, Lucy Musgrave and Mariana Mazzucato.

The events are free but booking is required.

UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
The Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment
Website: https://ucl.ac.uk/iipp
Twitter:   / iipp_ucl