To cast new light on social inequality, the 2012 edition of Social Panorama of Latin America is devoted mainly to aspects of caregiving on which systematized information for the region has not been available hitherto: paid employment in care-related activities, household expenditure on care, and the situation and care needs of persons with disabilities. This edition aims, in fact, to generate knowledge on a link in the chain of social reproduction which has long been sidestepped by public policy, since the issue made little inroads into the discussion or the policy agendas of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean until a few years ago.
