Caregiving for sick or old relatives, children, or other family members causes millions of women in Indonesia to wake before the sun comes up. Households and communities rely on their labour, yet it is hardly brought up in economic debates or labour legislation.

When we discuss the future of work, we usually jump to AI, green jobs, and digital skills. Those conversations matter, but they miss something basic: paid work runs on care work. Children, older adults, and people with disabilities still need daily support, no matter how advanced an economy becomes. In aging societies, care needs rise while family size shrinks. The central policy question is straightforward: who provides care, and what protections do they have?

In October 2023, the Uttar Pradesh government announced digital literacy and coding modules for all madrasas. By 2025, many Muslim women had landed IT jobs after completing coding courses, many working remotely. Success stories proliferated: Shadan Women's College partnering with tech firms, Kerala madrasas teaching Python, the SAFA Foundation placing graduates in freelance careers. These stories are real. But they obscure an uncomfortable truth: remote work is creating a two-tier system among Muslim women, benefiting an educated minority while leaving millions behind and potentially validating the very restrictions that keep Muslim women out of public life.

Amid global uncertainty, experts question if Singapore's "status quo" budget does enough to tackle inequality, AI disruption, and the pressures families feel. In what has become an annual event, the Social Inclusion Project (SIP) at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP), held a panel discussion on February 13 to dissect Singapore’s 2026 budget from the perspective of building a stronger and more inclusive society.