Public Care Key to Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering Women

Rather than viewing care solely as an economic asset, it should be recognized as a human right. Redistribution of unpaid care work from households to public care services is critical, along with reclaiming the fundamental role of the States in financing, providing, and regulating public care services. Rewarding paid care work in conjunction with the ILO’s decent work agenda is an integral part of this transformation.

To this end, PSI recommends to the expert panel :

1. Taxing fairly for Gender-Transformative Care. This includes the call for progressive taxation for financing gender-transformative public services, developing tax transparency and accountability to curb illicit financial flows, and advocating for an inclusive and democratic global tax cooperation. There is an urgent need for a UN Framework Convention on Tax that contributes towards gender-justice, reaffirming a rights-based approach to care.

2. Decent work for care workers, which includes formal employment and social protection for all care workers, including migrants. There is also a need for sufficient staff and professionalization, unionization, and collective bargaining rights to raise the economic value of paid care work. A new model of job evaluation without gender bias is needed to determine equal pay for work of equal value. And last but not least, a world of work free from violence and harassment is a non-negotiable prerequisite.

The commitment to these transformative measures will undoubtedly bring us a step closer to realizing our goal of gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls. The path to change may be challenging, but it is a journey we must undertake together.