An uncertain global economic outlook coupled with underinvestment in social infrastructure means inequality is growing, according to a new whitepaper published during Davos.

Investment in three foundational social institutions – education, healthcare and care – would re-start the engine of social mobility across economies, fill unmet demand for healthcare and childcare, increase the quality of education systems and ultimately drive growth, finds Jobs of Tomorrow: The Triple Returns of Social Jobs in the Economic Recovery.

Modelling based on the US economy showed that every dollar of investment would deliver a multiplier effect of 2.3 times.

“Social jobs create resilience and boost social mobility, preparing workers for future shocks and preparing societies for a virtuous cycle of human capital development,” says Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director at the World Economic Forum.

Christy Hoffman, General Secretary, UNI Global Union, said the multiplier effect of care would help to close the gender gap, particularly in developing economies, as it allows more women to go into the labour market and care jobs tend to be female-dominated.

“We need millions and millions of more jobs in care and they need to be good jobs in terms of humanity, but also we want to close the gender gap. That's a key strategy. If we're talking about gender equality, we've got to have investment in care.”

The burden of unpaid care work largely rests on the shoulders of women, said Gabriela Bucher, Executive Director, Oxfam International, so investing in care would “liberate the potential” of women.

Ageing populations in many developed countries, means demand for more careworkers, said Nicolas Schmit, the European Commission’s Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights - and it’s a challenge to find people to do essential jobs.

“It’s more than a question of pay, it’s a question of value in our society. How does society consider certain jobs, certain professions and certain educational courses.”

Getting more women into the workforce

“Everyone knows women’s participation in the workforce is the smartest thing, we have to look at equality and the gender balance,” said Dipu Moni, Minister of Education, Bangladesh.

The number of people quitting their jobs in the US reached a 20-year high in November - the so-called Great Resignation - with many citing childcare, lack of respect and low wages as their reasons.

Deloitte’s recent Women @ Work Report 2022 found burnout and lack of flexibility were among the reasons women are more likely to be looking for a job this year than last.

Women were also disproportionately affected by the pandemic globally, as they are more likely to work in the social, hospitality and informal sectors.

Although women are more highly skilled and educated than men, they are 20% underrepresented. Employers understand they need to attract them, said Jonas Prising, Chairman and CEO of Manpower Group, sounding a note of ‘cautious optimism’:

“We may see an acceleration of the underlying trend and need for women to participate to a greater degree going forward and technology of course has a lot a lot to do with that.”

The majority of women in the Global South work in the informal sector and when lockdowns hit, they had no income, Bucher added. One solution would be to give informal workers the same rights as formal workers, to give women greater job security.

Greater flexibility would be one of the lasting legacies of the pandemic, which would enable women to participate more easily in the workforce, said Prising, but he warned that, without due attention, flexibility may disadvantage women.

“The work of care and repair that most essential workers do is like the engineering of this century,” said Hilary Cottam, Social Entrepreneur, Centre for the Fifth Social Revolution.

“As in previous technology revolutions, enlightened business understands that a new social contract is core to growth.”