Care economy

The care society prioritizes the sustainability of life, linking care for people and for the planet. It can help to reverse social and gender inequalities in synergy with the environmental dimension and economic development. It helps to reduce the precariousness of care work and highlights the multiplier effects of the care economy.

Activities

7 - 9 November 2023 | Meetings and technical symposiums

Festival de Datos 2023

The Festival de Datos takes place in Punta del Este, from November 7-9, 2023, bringing together more than 400 delegates from governments, multilateral organizations, the private sector, academia and civil society of various nationalities.

7 - 11 November 2022 | Conferences and meetings of subsidiary bodies

XV Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean

The fifteenth session of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean was held in Buenos Aires from 7 to 11 November 2022.

29 September 2021, 10:15 - 11:45 | Other events

The burden of unpaid care work on Caribbean women in the time of COVID-19

Side event as part of the Sixty-first meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean

13 July 2021, 06:30 - 08:00 | Other events

Panel: Women's autonomy and the care economy in the framework of a…

The crisis caused by the COVID-19 virus has accentuated the structural challenges of gender inequality and has generated a setback of more than a decade in terms of women's participation in the labor market, a deepening of the feminization of poverty and an increase in the burden of care work, even in higher-income countries such as Chile, Costa Rica and Uruguay. Furthermore, as one of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the digitalization of economies that still face a significant gender gap in terms of access to and use of technologies, accentuated even more by income levels, has accelerated.

News

3 July 2025 | Briefing note

ECLAC reaffirms that investing in the care economy and gender equality is key to accelerating sustainability and peace

The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), held in Seville, addressed key challenges to reform the international financial system.

13 June 2025 | Press Release

The Mexican Government and ECLAC Signed a Headquarters Agreement Confirming the XVI Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean Will Be Held in August

On August 12-15, the United Nations’ main intergovernmental forum on women’s rights and gender equality in the region will take place in Mexico City.

9 June 2025 | Briefing note

Work-life balance in the United States: women in the workforce and the policy challenges of a growing care economy

The focus of this report is the work-life balance in the United States and how to improve it to increase women’s participation in the workforce as the country navigates the policy challenges of a growing care economy.

10 April 2025 | Briefing note

Toward the XVI Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, ECLAC Convened the Specialized Agencies for the Advancement of Women

Twenty-Seventh Meeting of the Specialized Agencies and Other United Nations Bodies on the Advancement of Women in Latin America and the Caribbean (OEM27) was held as part of the preparatory roadmap toward the XVI Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, to be held from 12 to 15 August in Mexico City.