Time to Care report

Context: A report titled- “Time to Care”– has been released by Oxfam International. The report Focuses on the alleviation of global poverty.

Key findings:

1. The world had 2,153 billionaires in the world in 2019. The number of billionaires has doubled in the last decade, despite their combined wealth having declined in 2018.
2. World’s richest 1% have more than twice as much wealth as 6.9 billion people.
3. From 2011 to 2017, average wages in G7 countries grew 3%, while dividends to wealthy shareholders increased by 31%.
4. Globally, extreme poverty rates are 4% higher for women than men and this gap rises to 22% during women’s peak productive and reproductive ages.

 Women related:

Globally, 42% of working-age women are outside the paid labour force, compared with 6% of men, due to unpaid care responsibilities.

1. The monetary value of unpaid care work globally for women aged 15 and over is at least $10.8 trillion annually –three times the size of the world’s tech industry.
2. 80% of domestic workers worldwide are women and 90% of domestic workers have no access to social security such as maternity protection and benefits.

Findings related to India:

1. India’s richest 1% hold more than four-times the wealth held by the bottom 70% of the country’s population.
2. The combined total wealth of 63 Indian billionaires is higher than the total Union Budget of India for the fiscal year 2018-19 which was at Rs 24,42,200 crore.

Concerns expressed:

Economic inequality is out of control and has created a great divide in the world.

This great divide is based on a flawed and sexist economic system which has accumulated vast wealth and power into the hands of a rich few. And they are also exploiting the labour of women and girls, and systematically violating their rights.

Way ahead:

• An additional 0.5% tax on the wealth of the richest 1% over the next 10 years can create 117 million jobs in education, health and elderly care.
• Invest in national care systems to address the disproportionate responsibility for care work done by women and girls.
• End extreme wealth to end extreme poverty and bring in legislation to protect the rights of all carers and secure living wages for paid care workers.

Sources: the Hindu.