The world needs to confront a serious disconnect between what is essential for social and economic prosperity, what is valued and prioritized in budgets and policies. This is a fundamental human rights issue and one of the biggest causes of gender inequality and poverty.
When we invest in comprehensive systems of care, we invest in women, communities, societies and economies. This will simultaneously reduce women’s time and income poverty, strengthen women’s labor market participation, increase the number of decent care jobs, and create almost 300 million jobs by 2035. Possibly.
Today, the world marks the second International Day of Care and Support and celebrates the work being done around the world, from Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Panama to Kenya, which recently passed laws establishing national care systems. Masu. The first national time use survey to inform the development of national health policy. We welcome the Philippine Caregivers Welfare Act, which upholds the rights of caregivers. Spain approves strategy for new long-term care models in communities. Canada is working with provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners to deliver a high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive early learning and child care system, with new investments totaling up to $30 billion over five years. is being carried out.
Today, we call for bold action to transform care systems. We support the Human Rights Council’s call for the centrality of care and support from a human rights perspective and the Economic and Social Council’s focus on promoting care and support systems for social development.
By engaging through multi-partner and multi-stakeholder platforms such as the Global Alliance of Care and Generation Equality Action Coalitions, we can support innovation, share experiences and achieve greater impact.
As we mark the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, let us all commit to action to transform care systems, with a strong recognition that equality is greater. Let us end the undervalued and gender-based segregation of care work and instead build thriving, just and sustainable economies and societies for today and tomorrow.