The event, which took place in the framework of the CSW69, brought together the United Nations Regional Commissions, governments, international organizations, and civil society to exchange experiences on care policies and interregional cooperation.

New York, March 13, 2025 – The parallel event “Transforming Care Systems for a Changing World: A South-South Dialogue” was held during the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), and served as a key space to strengthen cooperation around the care economy. It was organized by the Kingdom of Cambodia, and governments of Brazil, Chile, and Mexico, along with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), with support from the Global Alliance for Care.

The event brought together high-level representatives, including ministers and deputy ministers, senior officials of international organizations, and care policy specialists. In the opening, Yera Ortiz de Urbina, Deputy Director of the United Nations Regional Commissions, New York Office, recognized the leadership and collaboration among the regional commissions to advance sustainable development at the regional level. Cai Cai, Chief of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion, Social Development Division of ESCAP, on behalf of Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary of ESCAP, highlighted the Model Framework for Action on the Care Economy developed by the regional commission, which has guided national policies and contributed to the ASEAN Declaration on Strengthening the Care Economy and Fostering Resilience Towards the Post-2025 ASEAN Community, adopted in 2024.

Kantha Phavi, Minister of Women's Affairs of the Kingdom of Cambodia, shared work on a National Care Economy Framework and Action Plan, based on a broad, pioneering national consultation in 2023, focusing on four key areas: care-related infrastructure, social protection, services, and employment policies.

Ana Güezmes García, Director of the Division for Gender Affairs of ECLAC, emphasized that progress toward gender equality and a care society is a paradigm shift to achieve more productive, inclusive, and sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean. She also highlighted the need to rethink the development model in the region, stating, "Transitioning toward a care society is a horizon

and a pillar for a fairer and more sustainable future, with the sustainability of life and the planet at center."

According to data from the ECLAC Gender Equality Observatory, in Latin America and the Caribbean, women spend nearly three times more time than men on unpaid domestic and care work. Additionally, half of them are outside the labor market, and more than 50% of those who do not work do so due to care responsibilities. The care crisis is exacerbated by the aging population and the lack of social protection for the elderly. In the region, many people aged 80 and older lack adequate long-term care systems, Güezmes emphasized.

Interregional cooperation and progress on the care agenda

The panel “Global Trends, Regional Perspectives, Local Actions: Building Resilient and Comprehensive Care Systems and Policies,” moderated by Emilienne de León, Senior Strategic Advisor of the Global Alliance for Care, allowed for the sharing of experiences on innovative policies in the different regions. In Latin America and the Caribbean, eight countries have established national care systems, while 23 have implemented time use surveys and 10 have conducted economic valuations of unpaid domestic and care work.

During the dialogue, representatives from various regions shared progress in strengthening care systems, emphasizing their importance as a right and a basis for gender equality.

Gloria de la Fuente, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile, stated that care is a collective right and a fundamental pillar of social protection. In this context, she highlighted the government’s commitment to a bill creating the National Support and Care System (SNAC), aimed at ensuring institutional services and professionalizing care work, recognizing care as a fundamental right. She also referenced Chile’s global leadership in this area, during its past presidency of ECOSOC, highlighting the resolution on strengthening social protection, including care systems, as a tool to accelerate the achievement of substantive gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, that was adopted in 2024.

Laís Abramo, National Secretary for Care and Family from the Ministry of Social Development, Family, and Fight Against Hunger of Brazil, highlighted the recent adoption of the law establishing the national care policy, recognizing care as a task, a need, and a universal right. She explained that this process has been driven through an intersectoral dialogue that includes twenty ministries and wide social participation.

Patricia Carranza, Director General of Intelligence, Innovation, and Strategic Planning for Continuous Improvement of the Programs of the Ministry of Women of the Government of Mexico, reaffirmed the commitment to a progressive national care system. She emphasized the need for effective intersectoral coordination that acknowledges territorial differences, the use of technologies, evidence-based data, and a gender-sensitive budget.

The Chhunhak, Director General of the Ministry of Women's Affairs of Cambodia, presented four strategic areas to strengthen the care ecosystem: legal and public policy framework, transformation of attitudes, public investment, and private sector participation. He called for generating macroeconomic evidence to support investments, highlighting the benefits of including women in the labor market.

Elvina Sousa Carvalho, Secretary of State for Equality in the Government of Timor-Leste, emphasized that investing in the care economy is key to economic development, as it generates jobs, improves working conditions in the sector, and promotes gender equality.

Nathalie Zaarour, Member of the Lebanese National Commission for Lebanese Women, addressed the challenges of providing care services in crisis and conflict settings, marked by displacement and the destruction of essential services. She recalled how public hearings on women’s economic security in 2021 led to proposals of two legislative bills, showing that a crisis can provide an entry point to advance care policies. She highlighted the active role of local communities, particularly women.

Finally, Nada Darwazeh, Chief of the Center for Women at the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), closed by emphasizing the need to increase investment in the care economy, strengthen social co-responsibility, and transform care systems to move towards sustainable recovery with gender equality. The South-South dialogue took place in the framework of the project “Advancing Care Policies for Transformative Recovery and Resilience in Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia-Pacific, and the Arab States,” funded by the United Nations Development Account.

The event also provided an opportunity to project the next steps in the regional agenda, within the framework of the XVI Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, which will be held in Mexico from August 12 to 15, 2025, and will address the theme "Transformations in the Political, Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Spheres to Promote Care Societies and Gender Equality."