Women farmers in South Asia face distinct gender-based challenges, exacerbated by climate change. Their adaptive capacity is limited due to their limited access to resources and services, due to deeply embedded discriminating social norms. Access to climate smart agriculture is critical for them to strengthen their resilience. However, technology development and dissemination commonly disregard gender considerations, perpetuating a ‘gender blind’ approach. Mere technological advancement is therefore insufficient without the support of inclusive policies and institutions. While there is a growing emphasis on the importance of engaging multiple stakeholders and bundling various technical and social innovations, systematic and documented methodologies enabling such integrations are lacking. There is limited literature providing clear guidance on leveraging climate-smart agricultural (CSA) technologies to empower women and enhance their resilience. This paper aims to partially fill these gaps through an analysis of four case studies conducted in India as a part of the CGIAR’s Gender Equality Initiative. These cases focus on projects and programs that have bundled social, technical, and technological innovations to strengthen women’s empowerment and resilience. The interventions described in these case studies were designed to facilitate a shift in agricultural practices aimed at mitigating the impacts of climate change, while also elevating women’s economic conditions. Although not originally planned as innovation bundles, the interventions implemented across these cases exhibited an organic interconnection. Social innovations, which are often overlooked, emerged as an integral component of the bundling process, fostering an enabling environment for women. However, ad-hoc bundling revealed certain gaps including limited involvement of male stakeholders, insufficient recognition of women’s unpaid care work, and a lack of gender responsiveness in designing climate-smart technologies. The study underscores the need for intentional bundling tailored to contextual requirements to ensure sustainable impact, empowerment, and resilience.

Work mediated by digital labour platforms is often framed as flexible and autonomous, yet accessing paid tasks commonly requires extensive unpaid effort. Drawing on 65 qualitative interviews with Australian workers on project-based platforms (including Airtasker, Fiverr and Freelancer), we develop the concept of anticipatory labour: the unpaid, future-oriented work through which workers search for tasks, evaluate jobs and clients, and negotiate terms before any paid work begins. Anticipatory labour is not peripheral but constitutive of participation in platform labour markets, demanding sustained time, attention and emotional energy amid uncertainty and competition. We show that anticipatory labour is gendered. While all workers engage in these practices, women perform more anticipatory labour and experience it more intensely, often alongside unpaid domestic and care labour. Women's anticipatory labour is also more affectively charged, shaped by hope, anxiety and self-doubt as they manage risks to reputation, safety and future employability. Men, by contrast, report less anticipatory labour and more confidence in securing work. We argue that anticipatory labour operates as a mechanism of platform governance, shifting responsibility for employability onto workers and converting unpaid time and emotion into the conditions of participation in the gig economy. In doing so, platforms reproduce gendered inequalities while sustaining the promise of flexibility.

Introduction : All pregnant women are at risk of experiencing obstetric complications, which more often than not necessitate blood transfusions. Hemorrhages occurring during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period are the leading cause of maternal death worldwide. The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of blood transfusion in the management of obstetric emergencies in the health districts of Bamako, Koulikoro, and Ségou. Methodology: This was a multicenter, cross-sectional, descriptive, and analytical prospective study conducted from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2019. We performed exhaustive sampling of all blood transfusion cases during the pregnancy and postpartum period, regardless of the outcome. The data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 20). Results: We collected 647 cases of blood transfusions out of a total of 3,971 obstetric emergencies, representing a prevalence of 16.30%. The average age was 28 years. Our sample consisted primarily of uneducated, multiparous women who were housewives, domestic workers, or engaged in unpaid work and were being evacuated. Obstetric hemorrhages and iron deficiency anemia were the indications for transfusion in 74.23% and 17% of cases, respectively. In one-third of cases, the blood demand was not fully met (30%). Eighteen (18) cases, or 2.8%, of maternal deaths were recorded. Conclusion: The continuous availability of blood products improves maternal prognosis. Keywords : transfusion, emergency, obstetrics.

ABSTRACT This study examines the negotiation of salaryman masculinity and the Gendered Division of Labour (GDL) in Japanese society through the drama Gokushufudo (The Way of the Househusband, 2020). Using a contextual analysis method with a sociological approach to literature, the study involved watching the drama, noting relevant scenes and dialogues, and analyzing them based on Japanese salaryman masculinity and gender roles. The main character, Tatsu, a former yakuza turned househusband, embodies the negotiation of Japanese salaryman masculinity, which typically views men as breadwinners (daikoku-bashira). Tatsu's wife, Miku, also challenges conventional gender roles by being the family's breadwinner, reversing the typical domestic roles. Despite this role reversal, the drama highlights that the separation of paid labour and unpaid domestic work remains deeply rooted in society. Thus, while Gokushufudo showcases fluidity in gender roles, it also reinforces the segregation of breadwinners versus homemakers in the Gendered Division of Labour.

ABSTRACT Although economics derives its name from the Greek oikos nomos, or household management, the question of domestic labor, typically performed by women, has long been ignored in canonical conceptions of labor and value. But not by everyone. The canons of the economic discipline have obscured the problem by systematically marginalizing the work of economists and activists advocating for alternative methods to calculate the value of domestic work. This article provides a comprehensive review of a century of research on the contribution of unpaid work to the global economy and examines the mechanisms through which its exclusion became institutionalized within GDP and national accounting systems. It highlights how the reluctance to reform these mainstream measures has perpetuated well-known biases, despite generations of economists, particularly women, consistently demonstrating the feasibility and necessity of incorporating unpaid labor into economic assessment.

BackgroundChronic low back pain (CLBP) imposes substantial societal costs, with comorbid overweight or obesity possibly further increasing them. This study assessed the cost of illness of individuals with CLBP and comorbid overweight or obesity in the Bern metropolitan area (Switzerland) from a societal perspective.MethodsFollowing the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards 2022 and using preliminary baseline data from a randomised controlled trial, societal costs, including direct and indirect costs, over 3 months were calculated for adults with overweight or obesity and CLBP. Self-reported data were monetised using a bottom-up, prevalence-based approach, and absenteeism and presenteeism were valued via the human capital approach. Mean costs with bootstrapped 95% confidence intervals (CI) were reported in 2025 Swiss Francs (CHF) per cost category.ResultsFifty-three individuals (19 male, 34 female) with a mean age of 47.8 years (SD: 10.1) were included, comprising 18 individuals with overweight and 35 with obesity. Mean direct medical costs were CHF 543.69 (95% CI = [382.80; 686.33]), and mean direct non-medical costs were CHF 19.39 (95% CI = [0.00; 38.63]) respectively. Indirect costs accounted for 80% of total societal costs, with costs attributable to absenteeism of CHF 1,000.39 (95% CI = [2.63; 1,681.40]), presenteeism costs of CHF 549.47 (95% CI = [281.67; 774.67]) and costs due to impaired unpaid work of CHF 745.56 (95% CI = [241.02; 1,436.80]). Total societal costs averaged CHF 2,850.44 (95% CI = [1,667.17; 3,829.17]).ConclusionDespite the exclusion of individuals with uncontrolled, untreated comorbidities and those receiving invalidity payments, this study demonstrates a substantial financial burden of individuals with overweight or obesity and CLBP. From societal perspective, this burden is primarily driven by productivity losses. These findings emphasise the need for targeted cost-effective clinical interventions, coordinated policy initiatives, and further research to mitigate the significant societal impact of this population.Trial registration numberNCT05811624 (Clinicaltrials.gov). Acronym: BO2WL trial.

Associations of total daily working hours encompassing unpaid care and domestic work with nonrestorative sleep and mental health in middle-aged Japanese men and women: A cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT This paper capitalises on a randomised cash-transfer intervention implemented in rural Morocco between 2008 and 2010 to shed new light on the interplay between household inequality, as driven by gender and unpaid care work (UCW) dynamics, and children’s schooling. The study explores the effect of the cash transfer on school progression and UCW, including analyses of how effects vary by gender and time spent on UCW prior to intervention implementation. Results suggest that the intervention increased the likelihood of girls progressing through grades on time by approximately 6 to 10 percentage points, while it had no discernible effect for boys’ timely grade progression. Nonetheless, among girls the benefit of the treatment on timely grade progression was halved for each additional hour of UCW prior to intervention implementation, and the transfer proved ineffective in lessening the care burden. Taken together, findings suggest that – as a result of the intervention – girls performing UCW were staying in school more but were less likely to progress on time relative to their counterparts not engaged in UCW. Insights from this research shed light on whether promoting gender equitable opportunities within the household might enable children to follow a more regular school path.

IntroductionTuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death among people living with HIV. Global estimates among people living with HIV demonstrate that more incident cases and more deaths due to TB occur among women than men. Simultaneously, women experience higher levels of under and unpaid work compared to men. Given that poverty is an established determinant for TB, the aim of this study is to characterize the role of HIV‐related employment discrimination and legal protections on TB outcomes for women living with HIV.MethodsThe People Living with HIV Stigma Index 2.0 study was implemented in 11 countries across sub‐Saharan Africa, including Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritania, Nigeria, Lesotho, Togo and Zimbabwe. Study design and implementation were led by networks of people living with HIV in each country between 2020 and 2022. Interviewer‐administered questionnaires were used to collect self‐reported socio‐behavioural measures among cisgender adult women living with HIV. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to estimate associations between economic instability and employment discrimination exposures and recent TB diagnoses in the context of varying discrimination protections for women living with HIV.ResultsAmong 10,718 participants, 7.5% (n = 807) reported a recent TB diagnosis. Among women in countries without non‐discrimination protections, recent TB diagnosis was negatively associated with current employment (aOR: 0.72; 95% CI: 0.62, 0.85) compared to no employment; and positively associated with being refused employment or income due to HIV status (aOR: 1.80; 95% CI: 1.36, 2.39) and ever being refused promotion (aOR: 2.00; 95% CI: 1.37, 2.91) compared to those who have not reported these experiences. Among women in countries with non‐discrimination protections, recent TB diagnosis was associated with lower current employment (aOR: 0.72; 95% CI: 0.56, 0.92) but not associated with employment discrimination.ConclusionsThe presence of social protections may modify the associations between employment discrimination and TB diagnosis. Employment discrimination was associated with TB diagnosis in settings without social protections but not in settings with those protections in place—highlighting a potential vulnerability among people living with HIV in settings without non‐discrimination protections. Given the role of poverty in driving TB epidemics, social protections focused on employment, economic instability and opportunity may support TB prevention and control.

Women contribute considerably to a large part of an economy through their productive work, but their work is not recognized due to the inadequate definition of ‘economic activity' used in national income accounting. A significant section of the invisible work performed by rural women remains unidentified, undefined, and unpaid. Since the definition of economics is bounded by the market framework, much of the non-market work women perform remains invisible. It has consequently caused the market devaluation of women’s work. This paper examines the time distribution and valuation of working and non-working rural women engaged in unpaid activities. Empirical evidence was collected through primary data with the help of the Time Use Survey, obtained from rural women (N = 200) of Deokali Block in the eastern Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh. The study finds that the total average time spent on unpaid System of National Accounts (SNA) and Extended SNA activities by non-working women is almost double that of working women. Under the market replacement generalist approach, the daily and monthly wages for unpaid household work of non-working women are about 39.56 percent higher than those of working women. Similarly, under the specialist approach, the valuation of unpaid household work of non-working women is approximately 39.57 percent higher than those of working women. The study finds that the specialist approach provides a more realistic valuation of unpaid work than the Generalist approach.

A study on addressing women’s unpaid care work through financial tools: A study on women’s economic empowerment in Bangalore north

Inside the black box of child penalties: Unpaid work and household structure

P0928 Improvements in patient-reported work productivity and activity impairment among patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC) treated with obefazimod induction therapy: pooled results from the 8-week ABTECT-1 and ABTECT-2 Phase 3, double-blind, placebo-controlled induction trials

Unpaid care work for the elderly in Thailand: does the social gender norm on altruistic behavior matter?

ABSTRACT Using nationally representative data from the 2023 Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey (ELMPS), this paper describes education, fertility, labor market, and multi-dimensional agency outcomes for 13,280 currently married women aged 15–55, comparing those who married at or before age 18 with those who married later. Early marriage is common (29.2% of married women), particularly in rural and lower-wealth households. Relative to later-married women, early-married women more often have low schooling (30.4% illiterate vs. 16.1%) and much lower university attainment (1.9% vs. 24.8%). They report higher numbers of live births on average (3.2 vs. 2.8) and a greater prevalence of consanguineous unions (27% vs. 19%). Their labor force participation is around six percentage points lower and more concentrated in informal and unpaid work. Across agency domains, early-married women exhibit modest but patterned disadvantages in household decision-making, mobility, gender-egalitarian attitudes, and financial control, alongside higher justification of intimate partner violence and slightly lower self-efficacy. Agency levels rise with education for all women, yet early-married women remain less advantaged at each schooling level. Overall, the findings document systematic differences between early- and later-married women across human capital, economic engagement, and agency, underscoring the relevance of policies that expand schooling, decent work, and empowerment opportunities for girls and young women in Egypt.

In Vietnam’s rapidly expanding creative economy, women face unique challenges balancing professional aspirations with persistent caregiving responsibilities shaped by social and cultural norms. This study investigates the relationships between women’s cultural capital, care work burden, and career progression, considering generational differences. Drawing on Bourdieu’s conceptualization of cultural capital, the research examines three forms including embodied, objectified, and institutionalized and their influence on unpaid care responsibilities and professional advancement. A survey of 317 female creative professionals across Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z was conducted, and data were analyzed using PLS-SEM and one-way ANOVA. The findings indicate that all three forms of cultural capital are positively associated with women’s care work burden, which in turn significantly mediates their career progression. Generational differences further shape career outcomes, with Millennial women reporting higher progression compared with Generation X and Generation Z. These results highlight the dual role of cultural capital as both a professional resource and a gendered mechanism reinforcing care responsibilities. The study contributes to feminist applications of Bourdieu by demonstrating how capital conversion is embedded in unequal divisions of unpaid labor, and it underscores the need for policies and organizational practices that address care work burden to promote equitable career advancement in the creative economy.

Background: A global and national shortage of midwives has made retaining the current workforce in Aotearoa New Zealand increasingly important. Understanding the contemporary workplace environment is essential for retention. Aim: To explore midwives' work environment in Aotearoa New Zealand over three consecutive years (2019-2021). Method: A cross-sectional study was undertaken using an online survey in three consecutive years (2019-2021). The survey gathered demographic data, paid and unpaid work data, work settings and working hours. The survey tools used to describe midwives’ workplace conditions were: Quantitative Workload Inventory, Job Satisfaction Scale, Pay Satisfaction Scale and Work-Life Balance Scale. Findings: The 1766 total participant responses, distributed sequentially across the three years as n = 758, 506 and 502, represented 18% of all registered midwives. Overall, the midwives reported high levels of job satisfaction but low levels of pay satisfaction. Assuming significance is p < .05, variance analyses identified that job satisfaction (Mean [M = 4.31; Standard Deviation [SD] 0.94), pay satisfaction (M = 2.53; SD 1.1), and work-life balance (M = 3.21; SD 1.10) were significantly higher and workload lower (M = 4.31; SD 1.12) for 2020 when compared to 2019 and 2021. Job satisfaction levels for caseloading midwives (M = 4.22; SD 0.9) and those in other mixed roles (M = 4.17; SD 1.01) were significantly higher than for midwives working in secondary (M = 3.81; SD 0.98) and tertiary (M = 3.77; SD 1.01) units. Quantitative Workload Inventory reported significantly higher mean scores for midwives working in tertiary (M = 5.35; SD 0.88) and secondary (M = 4.84; SD 1.03) settings when compared to those working in caseloading (M = 4.09; SD 1.05), primary unit (M = 4.19; SD 1.3) and other mixed role (M = 4.32; SD 1.24) settings. Conclusion: Overall, midwives reported high job satisfaction, but this was alongside high workloads and low pay satisfaction. When work settings were compared, midwives working in secondary and tertiary hospitals reported higher workloads and fewer working hours than those working in primary and other mixed role settings. High workloads and low job satisfaction are risks to workforce sustainability.

This paper explores women’s experiences in Zimbabwe’s rugby scene, focusing on the intersection of sport and labour. While rugby offers potential pathways to empowerment, it remains unsustainable as a career for most female players in Zimbabwe. Despite their dedication and significant time investment, these women face various challenges that undermine their ability to view sport as a viable form of work. Chief among these are low financial compensation, precarious contracts, and the lack of institutional support, which perpetuate the perception of rugby as an unpaid or underpaid hobby rather than a legitimate profession. The research situates these challenges within Zimbabwe’s socioeconomic landscape, a country grappling with economic instability and gender inequality. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative data from current and former players, coaches, and administrators, the study explores the economic realities of female rugby players. It highlights their struggles to secure sponsorships, negotiate fair contracts, and balance rugby with other income-generating activities or unpaid domestic labour. Unlike their male counterparts, women in rugby often experience additional hurdles stemming from deeply ingrained patriarchal norms, which view rugby as a male domain and dismiss women’s participation as less valuable.

Gendered poverty persists as a systemic and global inequity rooted in the disproportionate burden of unpaid care work shouldered by women. Worldwide, women perform over 76% of unpaid care work, contributing an estimated $10.8 trillion annually in invisible economic value (Oxfam, 2022). This invisible labour constrains women's access to formal employment, limits social and economic mobility, and reinforces poverty cycles, especially among single mothers and low-income households. This paper examines how comprehensive and accountable childcare and equitable parental leave systems and policies can redistribute care responsibilities, enhance women’s labour force participation, and reduce gendered poverty. Employing secondary research, the study draws on labour market data, policy frameworks, and literature review from three welfare economies—Sweden, Norway, and Canada—to explore the socioeconomic impacts of care-supportive policy ecosystems. Findings reveal that in countries with universal childcare access and non-transferable, paid parental leave for both parents, women’s labour force participation exceeds 75%, gender wage gaps fall below 12%, and child poverty rates are markedly lower. The paper advocates for the urgent integration of unpaid care work into national accounting and economic policymaking and agendas. It supports the global adoption of care-centred policies as a foundational strategy for achieving SDG-1 (No Poverty) and SDG-5 (Gender Equality). Ultimately, acknowledging and funding the care economy is not only imperative for gender equity, but it is an economic necessity.

Introduction: The informal food sector in Kisumu City, largely run by women informal food vendors, plays a crucial role in the urban food system. However, these female-led businesses faced disproportionate risks stemming from COVID-19-related policies, exacerbating gendered vulnerabilities. This paper explores the gender gaps of post-pandemic recovery strategies and their implications for resilience, recovery, and sustainability of women-led informal food businesses. Methods: This cross-sectional study was guided by the Intersectionality-Based Policy Analysis (IBPA) framework. In collaboration with the Pamoja Community-Based Organization, we employed qualitative methods grounded in community-based participatory approaches. Data were collected through key informant interviews (n = 20), depth interviews (n = 20), focus group discussions (n = 40), and a review of policy documents (n = 2). Data was analyzed guided by the eight principles of the IBPA framework alongside Braun and Clarke’s six-phased thematic analysis approach. Results: Findings indicated that power dynamics in the formulation of post-pandemic policies and top-down implementation approaches excluded women informal food vendors from meaningfully participating in policy processes. For example, female vendors were excluded from the recovery priorities as the strategies adopted had limited to no targeted gender-responsive interventions. As such, women informal food vendors faced several challenges during recovery, including limited government support, barriers to accessing credit facilities, heightened household and unpaid care work, gender-based violence, sexual exploitation, and insecurity. The female vendors employed both individual agency and collective action to facilitate recovery. Discussion: Gender-responsive COVID-19 policies were critical to addressing the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women-led informal food businesses. Moving forward, a comprehensive understanding of existing sociocultural inequalities is crucial for designing post-pandemic strategies that are gender-inclusive and promote equitable recovery. Such an approach would enhance women informal food vendors’ resilience to emergencies and their contribution to urban household food security and livelihood.