Life Circle Participates in the 5th India Gender Collaborative Workshop
Life Circle at the 5th India IFC UN Women's Gender Collaborative 2025
New Delhi, 6 March 2025 — Priya Anant, Co-Founder and Director of Life Circle Health Services, participated as a panelist at the 5th India Gender Collaborative (IGC) Workshop on “Tackling Employer-Supported Care”, hosted jointly by the IFC UN Women’s Gender Collaborative 2025 under the theme “Inclusive Promotions and Better Retention of Women.”
The workshop convened leaders from business, government, and civil society to discuss how gender-responsive workplace policies can improve women’s participation and retention in the workforce — with a focus on integrating care solutions that support both employees and employers.
IFC UN Women's Gender Collaborative 2025 - Bringing the Care Economy into the Workplace Conversation
Representing Life Circle, Priya Anant highlighted how the lack of accessible eldercare is fast becoming a barrier to women’s professional advancement in India. She cited Government of India data showing that the elderly population is projected to reach 193 million by 2031, making employer-supported care an urgent need.
Drawing from regional research by BCG, she noted that:
- 88% of Indian employees are also caregivers — far higher than the Asia-Pacific average of 60%.
- 71% face a “dual burden” of caring for both children and elders.
- Despite these responsibilities, caregiver employees are 96% more ambitious than their non-caregiver counterparts, actively seeking promotions and leadership roles.
“These insights,” she observed, “show that caregivers are not just managing care burdens — they are developing core workplace strengths like empathy, persistence, efficiency, and prioritization. The question isn’t whether caregiving affects performance, but how workplaces can recognise and support the value it creates.”
A 16× Burden — The Case for Gender-Responsive Policy
Expanding on the discussion of women’s invisible care workload, Priya shared what she called India’s “16× burden” — a compounded effect of gender norms and multi-generational responsibilities.
“Globally, people talk about a ‘double burden’ for working women. In India, most women shoulder care for both their own and their in-laws’ parents, making it a sixteen-fold emotional and physical load. To build resilient, gender-inclusive workplaces, we need to design systems that acknowledge and support this reality.”
She urged employers to integrate eldercare within Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) frameworks — not as an employee perk, but as an enabler of productivity and well-being.
Life Circle’s Model for Employer-Supported Eldercare
Life Circle, which currently delivers over 100,000 days of home care annually, is expanding its services to collaborate with corporates that employ large numbers of dual-care employees.
Through custom eldercare packages, the company helps organizations create workplace support systems that may include:
- Preventive health monitoring for employees’ ageing parents.
- Caregiver education sessions for employees managing care duties.
- On-site caregiving stations or partnerships for short- and long-term care support.
- Preventive health monitoring for employees’ ageing parents.
“Comprehensive, employee-centric DEI policies with leadership accountability — not token gestures — drive retention,” Priya said. “Paid care leave, anti-discrimination frameworks, and employer-backed support services must work together if we want women to remain in the workforce.”
Building Sustainable, Scalable Care Systems
Priya also addressed the supply-side crisis in India’s care economy. Despite being a young country, few choose caregiving as a career due to stigma and low wages.
“We’re setting up ten training academies across India to build a professional caregiving workforce. But we must also change the narrative — caregivers are skilled professionals, not domestic workers. Dignity, fair pay, and shared care models will make this sector both cost-effective and scalable.”
IFC UN Women's Gender Collaborative 2025-A Shared Responsibility
Under The IFC UN Women’s Gender Collaborative 2025, Life Circle, as a home healthcare organisation, prioritises the health, safety, and dignity of its predominantly female workforce. Every caregiver is trained in workplace safety, elder handling, and emotional resilience to support safer non-traditional care environments.
4. Community Leadership and Engagement
The IFC UN Women’s Gender Collaborative 2025 aims to create actionable frameworks for private-sector investment in care infrastructure, recognizing that women’s workforce participation and economic growth are deeply intertwined with the availability of care.
Life Circle’s participation underscores its leadership in advocating for inclusive, dignified, and sustainable caregiving ecosystems that benefit families, employers, and the broader economy.
