Labour, Gender Inequalities and the SDGs: Why Is Decent Work a Gendered Question?

This chapter discusses the interconnection between the SDGs decent work and gender equality and argues that decent work is a feminist and gendered issue. Given the gendered stratification of the labour market and the impact of unpaid care work on women’s opportunities, I demonstrate that decent work cannot be achieved without working simultaneously on gender equality. To do so, SDG 8 must include a gender perspective and revise its indicators in order to recognise the value of care work and the specificities of women’s labour. Based on two empirical examples of campaigns developed by grassroots women’s groups in Brazil, namely, the Institute Women of the Amazon and the National Federation of Domestic Workers, this chapter further provides some concrete ideas to rethink and adapt the SDG decent work with a gender perspective. Indeed, the work of these women shows the importance of care work and reproductive labour and creates the necessary connections between gender, care and labour to foster a more inclusive and more sustainable model of development.