PRAIA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Unpaid work in Cabo Verde has an estimated economic value equivalent to 9.6 percent of the country's GDP and continues to be disproportionately undertaken by women, according to a report presented Tuesday by the Cabo Verdean Institute for Gender Equality and Equity (ICIEG).
The report shows that 88.4 percent of women aged 10 and above engage in unpaid work, compared with 67.9 percent of men. In care work involving children, the elderly and people with disabilities, the participation rate stands at 36 percent among women and 18.8 percent among men.
David Matern, Resident Representative of UNDP, UNICEF and UNFPA in Cabo Verde, said that if such work were included in national economic accounts, its economic value would amount to approximately 9.6 percent of GDP.
Matern stressed that domestic and care work constitutes an "economy" that takes place every day in households and communities, but "remains practically invisible in national accounts."
According to ICIEG President Marisa Carvalho, the overall volume of unpaid work has decreased by more than 50 percent compared with 2012, but the difference between women and men in performing this work remains above 20 percentage points.
Adelsia Almeida, Minister of Family, Inclusion, Social Development and Labor, said the figures show that care constitutes a "true economic asset" of the country, adding that the government intends to progressively strengthen the National Care Policy by expanding services such as childcare centers, home-based support, day centers for the elderly and services for people with disabilities.
