The gendered division of labour: how can we assess the quality of employment and care policy from a gender equality perspective?

Evaluating the quality of employment and care policy in relation to gender equality is important given the continuing inequalities between men and women in paid and unpaid work. However, assessment raises dilemmas: quality according to what criteria; quality for whom; and quality of what? It is proposed here that good quality means transformation in gender relations towards an equal distribution of paid and unpaid work, equal pay and de-segregation; that sensitivity to differences between women is required, but not the adoption of different quality standards; and that working towards the goal of transformation demands consideration of several interconnected policy arenas. Assessing quality is difficult; but it is possible – and it is crucial to achieving gender equality.