UN Women, in partnership with ParlAmericas, is taking significant steps to strengthen care policies across the Caribbean, with an emphasis on fostering gender equality and recognizing care work as essential for sustainable development.
Recently, representatives from national gender machineries and experts from 15 Caribbean countries and territories convened in St. George’s, Grenada, on April 16-17, to discuss ways to support the implementation of improved legislation, policies, programs, and services related to care.
These efforts aim to enhance national care systems. The representatives acknowledged that care is a human right, encompassing actions necessary to maintain human well-being.
This includes providing assistance to individuals in situations of dependency, whether temporarily or permanently. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights outlines this right as having three essential components: the provision of care to others under decent conditions, access to quality and adequate care when needed, and the capacity for self-care and personal well-being.
Care encompasses a wide range of daily activities for managing and sustaining life, both within and outside the home.
Key focus areas for the Caribbean include:
– Strengthening Care Policies: Developing comprehensive frameworks that recognize, reduce, and redistribute unpaid care work, predominantly shouldered by women.
– Economic Empowerment: Promoting policies that enhance women’s economic participation and address the gender gap.
– Legislative Action: Strengthening laws to eliminate discrimination and promote gender equality.
– Capacity Building: Leveraging partnerships to support the implementation of policies across the region.
This collaborative effort aligns with global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 5 (Gender Equality), aiming for robust and equitable care systems. UN Women Caribbean is leading initiatives to bolster gender equality by transforming care systems, recognizing that unpaid care work—largely performed by women—poses a significant barrier to equality and economic development.
Through the #BuildBackEqual project and regional advocacy, UN Women is advocating for policies that recognize, reduce, and redistribute care work.
The Joint Statement from the UN Women event in St. George’s underscores the importance of integrating gender equality and care policies throughout the Caribbean, emphasizing the need for policy reforms to transform care work, ensure women’s rights, and create safer homes and public spaces. The statement also highlights the importance of inclusive participation, encouraging men and boys to engage in emotional expression and caregiving roles to foster societal change.
The rise of local women’s leadership within regional organizations reflects progress in empowering women as agents of transformation. These initiatives aim to address systemic inequalities and promote sustainable development through equitable care systems.
The ‘Caring for Development’ Joint Statement, developed by UN Women following the 2013 Caribbean Forum on Gender Equality and the Post-2015 Agenda in Barbados, amplifies regional priorities for gender equality and care policies. It emphasizes the recognition, reduction, and redistribution of unpaid care work—primarily borne by women—as a crucial step towards advancing sustainable development.
The statement has influenced global agendas, including the SDGs and SIDS pathways, advocating for equitable care systems. Funded by Global Affairs Canada under the #BuildBackEqual initiative, this work stresses the importance of integrating gender-responsive care policies into national planning across the Caribbean.