The COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating the care crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought to light, in an unprecedented way, the importance of care for the sustainability of life and the low visibility of this sector in the economies of the region, where it is still considered an externality and not a fundamental component of development. The ongoing health crisis highlights the unfair social organization of care work in Latin America and the Caribbean. There is an urgent need to consider responses to care needs from a gender perspective, since, as the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has repeatedly demonstrated, it is women who, whether paid or unpaid, bear the greatest caregiving burden.