Hidden cost of being young and what our Gen Zs need to thrive

No one ever referred to me as a care worker. Before I turned 18, I could rock a baby to sleep with one hand while stirring a pot of ugali with the other. At 22, just after graduating with my first degree, I put everything on hold to nurse my mother for more than six months, until she passed on.

I was simply seen as a girl fulfilling her expected duties. No one ever asked about my emotional well-being. Many young people have had to pause or abandon their education to care for a child or an ailing kin. Many have had to make the difficult trade-off between earning an income and caregiving responsibilities. Like many young Kenyans, especially girls, my journey into adulthood was marked by invisible labour. And that came at a cost. Today, as Kenya charts its path through the draft National Care Policy, it is time to examine care work through the lens of its youngest contributors and beneficiaries: Generation Z (13 to 28 years) who constitute up to 30 per cent of the population.

Young people, particularly adolescent girls, are frequently expected to take on unpaid care responsibilities in their households. This invisible labour often comes at the expense of their education, ambitions and well-being. The 2021 Kenya Time Use Survey revealed a stark reality: girls aged between 15 and 17 spend four times more time on unpaid care work than boys. That is not just inequality, it’s time theft.

It limits the potential of girls, deprives them of opportunities and entrenches cycles of poverty and disempowerment. The National Care Policy begins to acknowledge this injustice, calling for investments in care infrastructure such as accessible childcare, eldercare, and disability support services. Although these are critical first steps, awareness must translate into action. Without real investment and accountability, this heavy burden will remain invisible.

It is often overlooked that young people also need care. Young mothers and fathers, particularly those in low-income and marginalised communities, require access to affordable, quality childcare to continue their education or pursue meaningful livelihoods. Yet, in Kenya, childcare services remain largely informal, costly, and unregulated. This does not only burden young parents, but it also affects cognitive and emotional development of their children.

Youth living with disabilities or chronic conditions face further marginalisation due to limited access to support services, assistive devices, and affordable healthcare. Add to that the lack of universal health coverage, and it becomes clear: Kenya’s young people are navigating adulthood without the safety nets they deserve.

Kenya’s care sector holds immense untapped potential for youth employment. Yet many of the available jobs -- like domestic work or childcare -- are informal, underpaid, and lack basic protections. The draft National Care Policy calls for regulation, professionalisation, and skills training, which could create decent jobs for young Kenyans.

There is need to go beyond recognising care work and value it as well Elevating care work to a respectable, well-paid profession can shift perceptions and open a vibrant job market for Gen-Z. Kenya’s National Care Policy is a vital tool for addressing the unique challenges young people face, both as providers and recipients of care. It offers a pathway to reducing the burden of unpaid care work, expanding access to quality care services, and creating dignified jobs in the care economy. This raises an important question: if young people are central to the care equation, why is care work still not fully integrated into national youth empowerment strategies?

Young people can play a powerful role in challenging and reshaping the outdated gender and social norms that have placed the weight of care unfairly on women and girls for generations. Gen-Z can lead a cultural shift toward shared caregiving, inclusivity, and recognition of care as valuable work.

When we know better, we advocate better. It is time for Kenya’s youth to rise, not just as beneficiaries of policy, but as champions of a more just and caring future. Gen-Z must step up to challenge outdated gender norms, demand equitable caregiving responsibilities, and hold leaders accountable for policy actions. As the African proverb notes, “If the young are not initiated into the village, they will burn it down just to feel its warmth.”

Gen-Z are not burning, they are building. Let us give them the care infrastructure they need to thrive.