Bridging the Gender Gap in Social Protection: ILO Outlines Roadmap to Equality

The ILO underscores that gender equality must be central to the design and implementation of social protection policies.

In a newly released report titled Making Social Protection Work for Gender Equality: What Does It Look Like? How Do We Get There?, The International Labour Organization (ILO) emphasizes the urgent need to reframe and redesign social protection systems to effectively address structural gender inequalities. Launched during an online panel discussion last Thursday, the publication brings to the fore a comprehensive, life-cycle approach that accounts for the diverse and evolving needs of women throughout their lives, from childhood to old age.

Gender-Responsive Design at the Heart of Social Protection

The ILO underscores that gender equality must be central to the design and implementation of social protection policies. Far too often, social protection systems have focused narrowly on maternity benefits and targeted assistance programs, overlooking the full spectrum of risks and barriers that women face throughout their lives. These include persistent gender pay gaps, limited access to decent work, and the unequal burden of unpaid care work.

Shahra Razavi, Director of the ILO’s Social Protection Department and chair of the panel discussion, presented the key findings alongside Christina Behrendt, Head of Social Policy at the Universal Social Protection Department. “To make social protection truly work for women, we must go beyond the traditional scope of maternal benefits,” said Razavi. “We need to account for women as workers, caregivers, older persons, and citizens who experience specific vulnerabilities across the life course.”

Persistent Coverage Gaps: Women Left Behind

Despite international commitments, the gender divide in access to social protection remains stark. Globally, just 50.1% of women have access to at least one form of social protection, compared to 54.6% of men. The disparity is even greater when it comes to comprehensive legal coverage: only 28.2% of women are fully covered under national systems, compared to 39.3% of men—a gap of more than 11 percentage points.

These gaps become even more critical in the face of mounting global crises, including the climate emergency, armed conflicts, and health pandemics, all of which disproportionately impact women and girls. These crises risk deepening existing inequalities and exposing the fragility of social safety nets, particularly for women in vulnerable employment situations or informal work.

Integrated Policy Approaches: More Than Just Transfers

According to the ILO report, effective gender-responsive social protection systems cannot operate in isolation. Instead, they require close coordination with broader policies in the areas of employment, education, care, taxation, and economic reform. Social protection, when aligned with inclusive labour market policies and care systems, can be a transformative tool for empowering women and lifting them out of poverty.

“Social protection alone cannot fix structural inequalities rooted in discrimination in the labor market or limited access to skills, assets, and decent jobs,” said Razavi. “It needs to be part of a broader agenda of economic justice and gender equality.”

James Heintz, Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts, added a critical perspective on the role of fiscal policy. “There is a contradiction in how we think about fiscal sustainability,” he said. “While we aim to protect developmental goals, austerity measures often undermine the very social protection and public services that enable those goals to be realized.”

Spotlight on Informal Workers and Time Poverty

A significant portion of women around the world work in the informal economy, where access to legal protections and benefits is scarce. Laura Alfers, International Coordinator at Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO), stressed the importance of integrated strategies that link social protection to broader livelihood improvement. “Social protection needs to be part of a system that includes income security, access to public services, and long-term structural transformation,” she emphasized.

In addition, the report and panelists pointed out that poverty should not be understood solely in terms of income. “Women’s time burdens—resulting from unpaid care work—must be recognized as a form of poverty,” argued Deepta Chopra, Professorial Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex. “If we truly adopt a rights-based approach, we need to stop viewing women only as mothers or workers. Women are citizens with a full range of entitlements.”

Pathways Forward: Building Inclusive, Resilient Systems

Drawing on international social security standards, the ILO report offers promising examples from various countries that have adopted inclusive and innovative approaches to gender-responsive social protection. These include universal child benefits, non-contributory pensions, paid parental leave policies, and investment in quality care services—particularly childcare and eldercare.

The report calls for the creation of strong policy synergies across sectors and emphasizes the importance of involving women’s organizations and civil society in designing and monitoring social protection systems. Without such participation, policies risk being out of touch with the real needs and challenges faced by women on the ground.

Conclusion: A Call to Action

As the world grapples with multiple intersecting crises, from economic shocks to climate disasters, the call to action from the ILO is clear: social protection must be reimagined and restructured to serve as a foundation for gender equality. This transformation will require not just technical policy adjustments but a fundamental shift in how societies value care, equality, and human dignity.

“Gender-responsive social protection is not a luxury,” concluded Razavi. “It is a necessity for building fair, resilient, and inclusive societies.”