The Care Economy: Equity and Gender Dimensions in Latin America and the Caribbean

Objectives

• With this call for research proposals, the IDB Group’s Gender and Diversity Knowledge Initiative (GDLab) outside the labor force cite care responsibilities as the primary reason, compared to only 13% of men (BIDSIMS, 2023).
• While policy efforts in the region have aimed to alleviate the burden of unpaid care and promote equitable distribution within families, these interventions are often inadequately studied. Most evaluations focus solely on the impact of policies or programs on female labor participation, neglecting broader social and economic impacts, such as the direct impact on the participation of fathers in care tasks.
• The goal is to gather evidence on how these programs can enhance the redistribution of unpaid care responsibilities within families, incentivize men to prioritize caregiving, professionalize paid care work, and increase male participation in care sectors.

Thematic Areas

• Social norms, gender equity, and care distribution: Proposals should evaluate interventions aimed at shifting social norms and promoting equitable distribution of care responsibilities between genders.
• Policies and services for unpaid caregivers: Proposals should rigorously assess the impacts of care-related policies on labor market outcomes and or well-being. This includes evaluating parental leave policies, with an emphasis on paternity and parental leave, flexible work arrangements, and care credits in pension systems.
• Intergenerational care: Proposals in this area could focus on the dynamics of care across generations, including evaluating programs that support families caring for both children and elderly relatives simultaneously.
• Care infrastructure and services: Proposals should rigorously assess the impact of expanding public care services, such as childcare centers, elder care facilities, telecare, and home visits. Studies may evaluate how access to these services affects the distribution of care work within households, women’s labor force participation, and overall family well-being while also accounting for the cost of the interventions.
• Care economy and labor markets: Proposals in this area should provide causal evidence on interventions designed to improve working conditions and recognition for care workers.
• Technology and care: Proposals should rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of technological solutions in supporting care work.

Funding Information

• Subject to the decision of the Scientific Committee and the signing of a consulting contract with the IDB, participants may apply for one of the following funding categories based on the scope of the work proposed:
  • Category I – Quantitative diagnoses that establish causal relationships. Studies in this category require resources to complement existing funds, or to cover research activities without data collection. Proposals in this category can access a maximum of 20,000 US dollars (USD) and have a maximum of 12 months to complete the study starting in March 2025.
  • Category II – Pilot interventions. Studies in this category require resources to rigorously evaluate the impact of an intervention or pilot program. Proposals in this category can access a maximum of 100,000 US dollars (USD) and have a maximum of 18 months to complete the study starting in March 2025.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must meet the following requirements:
  • Be a citizen of one of the 48 IDB member countries and not have family members who currently work at the Inter-American Development Bank or IDB Invest (jointly, “IDB Group”) (to the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity, including husband or wife).
  • Participation of IDB Group specialists in the research teams is encouraged.
  • It should be noted that while the specialists may collaborate on the project, they will not be eligible to receive compensation for their contribution. The funds will be given exclusively to the members of the research team who are not part of the IDB Group.

For more information, visit Inter-American Development Bank.