a reanalysis of the same data using the ratio measure found that increases in gender equality in education were associated with higher levels of growth for rich and poor countries alike klasen labour is generally taken as a given factor of production like land and other natural resources rather than as a resource that has to be produced through human effort much of this care work is carried out by women often on an unpaid basis in developing countries where state or market provision of services and infrastructure and technologies that would reduce the burden of such work are largely missing women spend considerable time on childcare food preparation fuelwood and water collection and caring for older persons and the sick in addition to economic activities such as food production income generation cash crop cultivation livestock care and home gardening