A/HRC/26/39 loss of income during maternity immediately available to self-employed women, constituted a breach of article 11 (2) (b) of the Convention. Care functions 89. A disproportionate amount of unpaid care work falls on women, limiting women’s capacity to engage in paid work. This is evidenced in empirical studies which show that women, whether or not they are in paid employment, spend between twice to four times the amount of hours on care functions than do men. Up to 90 per cent of home care due to illness is performed by women and girls. 90. Unlike women’s reproductive function, care functions do not necessarily have to fall on women. All forms of care, including childcare, are amenable to social reconstruction, and indeed in the Nordic countries, which have long pursued a policy of gender equality in the division of work and childcare functions, the distribution of care work comes close to parity. Good practice regarding the allocation of care responsibilities, pioneered in the Nordic countries, encourages men to enter traditionally women’s worlds, both in the family and in the workplace, thus allowing women to participate and advance in the labour market. 91. The Working Group considers that the three “Rs” of unpaid care work – recognition, reduction and redistribution – should be integrated into macroeconomic policy in order to fulfil women’s right to care services and to facilitate the women’s economic empowerment. 92. Recognition of unpaid care work entails the imposition, on the international and constitutional levels, of a state obligation to guarantee an equal distribution of care functions as a fully-fledged economic and social right. It also signifies the recognition of care expenses as part of the gross national product, thus requiring integration of the care economy into the macroeconomy. It necessitates the prohibition of direct or indirect discrimination on grounds of care functions, as established by the ILO and the European Court of Justice. Furthermore, it justifies the good practice of recognizing care expenses as deductible for income tax purposes, since provision of care for dependents is a necessary expenditure to allow an unpaid caretaker to generate income. 93. Reducing care work may, especially in developing countries and rural areas, be achieved by improving the basic infrastructure, including water, sanitation and transportation. 94. Redistributing care work involves restructuring the design, funding and delivery of care by households, markets, the State and civil society so that a disproportionate burden of unpaid care does not fall on women. The equal sharing of care amongst different actors requires, on one hand, the sharing of care responsibilities by men as well as women in households and, on the other, the provision by the State of affordable and accessible care facilities, including childcare, adequate hospital care and recuperation periods, and facilities for the care of the disabled and the elderly. 95. Sharing of care responsibilities within the household should remain a matter of choice for women and men. For any real choice to be possible, paid care leave must be available to both parents. The Nordic countries were the first to introduce an independent paternity leave in order to overcome stereotypes and barriers to men sharing childcare functions. Such provisions are becoming more common around the world, with increased awareness of men’s parenting roles and their need to reconcile work and family life. Paternity leave is usually much shorter than maternity leave and more often unpaid. Some countries have introduced more gender-neutral parental leave options, and recent best practice in one Nordic country provides symmetry in childcare leave, with five months for 18