This policy paper argues that the failure to recognize and value the care economy, both paid and unpaid care work, creates a barrier in gender-just governance. Focused on the Pakistan context, the analysis calls for a gender-transformative governance approach using the ILO’s 5R framework to embed care within social protection systems. The policy paper is a part of the broader project on Gender-Just Governance, developed by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Gender Justice Competence Center Asia-Pacific.