Recognizing and Protecting the Purple Sector

Abstract

This article advances the Purple Economy framework by introducing the “purple sector,” defined as the institutional and policy architecture through which states organize, regulate, and invest in care work, encompassing both paid and unpaid activities, and framing care as a social and economic infrastructure essential for sustainable well-being, inclusive growth, and gender-equitable development. Despite growing recognition of care as fundamental to life-sustaining economies, the institutional pathways translating Purple Economy principles into governance arrangements remain insufficiently understood. The study addresses this gap through a comparative institutional analysis of care system trajectories and policy gaps in Uruguay, Ecuador, Brazil, and Peru, based on 168 legal and policy documents, including labor regulations, social protection programs, and coordination mechanisms. It examines three dimensions: (1) recognition and regulation of purple sector occupations, (2) coverage of contributory and noncontributory social protection for paid and unpaid care workers, and (3) mechanisms fostering policy learning and cross-sectoral adaptation. Findings indicate that policy recognition of care frequently outpaces redistribution and financing, producing fragmented frameworks and fiscal asymmetries. The study identifies policy priorities, including strengthening monitoring, evaluation, and learning systems and integrating unpaid care into social and fiscal planning. It provides a comparative map of care system maturity, offering benchmarks for policy design and positioning the purple sector as a strategic investment in social and economic infrastructure, supporting a gender-transformative care agenda in the Latin American region.