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Care work underpins and drives economic, social and environmental wellbeing. It enables modern societies and economies to function. The global COVID-19 pandemic exposed the important yet precarious state of the world’s care infrastructure generally and the disastrous gendered consequences of inadequate care services specifically.1,2,3 The disproportionate burden of unpaid care work on women causes them to do less paid work, enter lower quality jobs and reduce their overall labour force participation rates.4 Reliable access to affordable and quality care is widely recognised as a driver of women’s increased workforce participation.5,6 It is a lever for gender equality.