It also means that women tend to accrue fewer savings and assets for their older age. The essential components of social protection to meet these goals include: paid maternity and parental leave, social transfers for families with children, with additional support for lone parents, and adequate pensions through a combination of gender-responsive contributory and non-contributory schemes. Without this unpaid care work—both direct person-to-person care and the domestic work of preparing meals and doing laundry—economies and societies would grind to a halt.