Hidden Labor to Good Jobs: Care Economy with Masoomeh Khandan

The care economy faces a deepening paradox: surging demand for care services alongside persistent workforce shortages, high turnover, and chronically poor job quality for workers. How do we break this equilibrium, and what does it tell us about the future of work in labor intensive service sectors more broadly?

In this talk, Masoomeh Khandan, former World Bank consultant and founder of X3P, presents lessons from X3P, a social enterprise operating at the intersection of workforce development, labor market policy, and technology. Drawing on field research and implementation evidence, the presentation explores how a technology-enabled platform, targeted training, and job redesign can simultaneously improve worker outcomes and expand care access. The discussion examines broader implications for labor market policy, inclusive economic growth, and how new approaches to organizing care work can create pathways to better jobs, not just for the care sector, but for the millions of underutilized workers across the U.S. economy.

This event is hosted by Harvard’s Center for International Development and will be held in a hybrid format. All are welcome. Harvard ID holders are encouraged to attend in person, while non-HUID guests are invited to join via livestream or access the event recording afterward.