An IAFFE side event by GATJ’s Tax and Gender Working Group.
Feminist economics increasingly recognizes the need for tax systems that address the gendered dimensions of care work, a key driver of gender inequality. Traditional public care policies have focused on women’s paid labor, through mechanisms like maternity leave and daycare, but often overlook informal and unpaid care work, particularly those engaged in by women outside the formal labor market or in self-employment. This exclusion underscores the necessity for universal care systems that are inclusive of all, regardless of employment status, and adequately financed by progressive tax policies.
Feminist and tax justice advocates from the Tax and Gender Working Group (TGWG) discussed this at a side event on Tax Justice for Gender Equality: Rethinking Care Systems at the 33rd Annual International Association of Feminist Economics Conference.
Maureen Mburu from the Global Alliance for Tax Justice (GATJ) shared, “Care work is the backbone of our societies and economies. It sustains life, supports wellbeing, and enables all other forms of work. Yet, care work remains undervalued, invisible, and disproportionately shouldered by women and marginalised communities.”
Women and marginalised groups are the shock absorbers of society, forced to shoulder the burden when austerity measures cut care. As María Julia Eliosoff Ferrero from FES Argentina emphasised, “Care is being financed, not by the state or the private sector, but primarily by women through their unpaid time. Austerity measures cut where care is actually financed: social protection and public services.”
The forthcoming 3rd Framing Feminist Taxation guide by the TGWG explores the intersection of care, gender equality. With case studies from Africa, Latin America, and Asia, it provides insights into how different countries structure their tax systems and care policies, and the gendered impact of these systems on women and marginalized communities.
“In the Philippines, by the age of 15, girls spend 9 hours per week on housework compared to 4 hours for boys,” shared Riva Jalipa, Amnesty International, on the case of taxation and gender in the Philippines.
María Julia Eliosoff Ferrero, spoke about Latin America, “Latin America is the most unequal region in the world. To address this, we need strong care systems to redistribute time and progressive tax systems to redistribute wealth. Only by combining both will we move towards gender justice.”
To deliver the resources needed for public services and social protection, tax abuse must be curbed, and that requires not only domestic policy changes but also structural change at the global level.
Hazel Birguni, a Pan-African lawyer, urged: “We must move beyond GDP, beyond austerity, and beyond patriarchy. This requires establishing care systems that adopt an intersectional approach, underpinned by progressive taxation and a commitment to human rights.”
Now, a historic process is underway as UN Member States will meet in August to begin negotiations on a UN Framework Convention on International Cooperation (UN Tax Convention). The upcoming negotiations for a UN Tax Convention allow all Member States to participate on an equal footing. This differs from the OECD Inclusive Framework, which does not allow all countries to participate on an equal footing nor has it produced effective results. Maureen Mburu shared the importance of this distinction: “If you are not at the table, you are on the menu.”
On the UN Tax Convention negotiations, Katie Tobin, WEDO, shared the work of the TGWG, “We need to ensure that the UN Tax Convention process supports a feminist and gender-responsive approach to international tax governance.”
Maureen Mburu, reminded participants of the connection between tax justice and gender equality, “Tax justice is about shifting power, redistributing wealth, and financing the public services that we all need to live a dignified life.”
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Read here the Framing Feminist Taxation guide volume 1 and Framing Feminist Taxation guide volume 2.