And how is the wealth of these billionaires made? Well, with the help of billions of women and girls working gruelling hours for little to no pay, to take care of others so we can all be healthy and happy. This work makes all other work possible.

The worst of it – our society and economy doesn’t count the billions of hours of care work done each year.Often undervaluing this work by not seeing it as real work at all.

Oxfam believes this shameful reality needs to come to an end. The care work women and girls do should count - just like the work of the tech industry or any other industry counts.After all, if we were to count care work for both its social and economic value, it would be the most valuable industry in the world. In financial terms alone, the annual turnover of the care industry is nearly $11 TRILLION US dollars every year.

But what does it really mean to value and count care work?

For care work to be valued and counted, governments must acknowledge the amount of care work you do, and the value it brings to society.

And if governments truly valued this work, they would commit to building national care systems to help reduce and redistribute the amount of work on your shoulders.

These national care systems must include:

• Investment in care services (like healthcare, childcare, infrastructure, etc) that are good quality and affordable for everyone.
• A commitment to ending extreme wealth by making the super-rich and corporations pay their fair share of tax, so care services are properly funded.
• Protecting the rights of people working in care services, including ensuring they are paid fairly.

Let’s demand the care work that holds up our society and economy counts!

Show your support and demand that your government #MakeCareCount by signing the petition.