A/HRC/34/29 sectors. 48 Some States have also undertaken nationwide equal pay campaigns, raising awareness of the illegality of discrimination in remuneration. V. Women’s unpaid work 70. Women carry out the bulk of unpaid caregiving and household work in society, which keeps them out of the workforce and public life. In addition to social norms, the lack of affordable care services and the gender remuneration gap perpetuate women’s disproportionate engagement in unpaid care work. 71. The gender disparities in the allocation of unpaid work impedes girls’ and women’s equal enjoyment of their rights to education, work and an adequate standard of living, and of other rights, and impedes their social and economic empowerment. While men engage in remunerative and productive activities, women, who are often burdened by unpaid work, have limited options to participate in public life and to seek decent employment. Often, they are compelled to resort to precarious part-time and temporary employment. The cumulative impact of unpaid work on the situation of the rights of older women is also considerable. With little to no pension and retirement savings, some older women who have spent a significant part of their life in unremunerated work may be denied a large range of their rights, including the right to an adequate standard of living, the right to health, and the right to be protected against abuse. Moreover, the rights of persons receiving support may also be affected, in that caregivers may not always be able or qualified to provide adequate care. 72. The social and economic contributions of unpaid work have remained largely invisible and undervalued. Yet, in essence, women’s unpaid work “subsidizes” the provision of care, by filling unmet demands for public or affordable services. It is estimated that women’s unremunerated work could amount to between 10 and 39 per cent of a given country’s gross domestic product. 49 Most national economic and social policies have failed to accord due consideration to this barrier to women’s equal participation in the labour market and public life. 73. States’ policies affect the extent of women’s engagement in unpaid care. In her 2013 report, the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights underlines that State policies determine who has access to care services and also who does not 50 and is thus obliged to fill the gaps through unpaid care work — this is usually girls and women. Moreover, the availability of social, household and public infrastructure influences the amount of time that women spend on household work. Consequently, in addition to mending the gender-based division of work, the core of public policies that are aimed at addressing women’s unpaid work should be anchored in social protection, recognition of the value of unpaid work, and the availability of time-saving domestic technologies and public infrastructure. Part of this approach has been framed by Diane Elson as the “triple R”: recognize, reduce and redistribute. 51 74. Any effort to effect change on women’s burden of unpaid work should start with recognition of the social and economic value of the work. This entails acknowledging that 48 49 50 51 See, for example, CEDAW/C/NOR/CO/8, para. 30. Debbie Budlender, The Statistical Evidence of Care and Non-Care Work Across Six Countries, (Geneva, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, 2008), p. 38. See A/68/293, para. 8. Diane Elson, “The three R’s of unpaid work: recognition, reduction and redistribution”, paper presented at the Expert Group Meeting on Unpaid Work, Economic Development and Human Well-being (UNDP, 2008). 15