These brochures present key insights and recommendations on care and social protection in Sri Lanka, drawing on a broader research report on care work and women’s economic participation in urban contexts. Designed as an accessible overview of the findings, the brochures are available in Sinhala, English, and Tamil.

Domestic workers are an invisible infrastructure holding Colombo’s fragile care systems together. They enable women from the upper and middle classes to engage in the workforce, while receiving no protections themselves. Despite receiving no guaranteed minimum wage, social protection, paid leave or pensions, their labour is vital to sustaining urban economies. Drawing from our research with working mothers across Colombo’s low-income communities, this article makes a case for recognising care work as dignified work to advocate for the rights of domestic workers and other workers in the informal sector.