Investing in the Care Economy: A Solution to Promoting Gender Equality and Sustainable Growth

The Vietnam Women Entrepreneurs Council (VWEC) under the Vietnam Federation of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) recently organized the Workshop "Investing in the care economy: Solutions to promote gender equality and sustainable growth".

The workshop is one of the activities held on the occasion of International Women's Day with the global theme "For all women and girls".

The event was attended by Ms. Pauline Tamesis, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Vietnam, along with nearly 130 delegates representing ministries, sectors, United Nations organizations, international organizations, embassies, business associations, women entrepreneurs associations, businesses, and women entrepreneurs in the Northern region.

Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Ms. Mai Thi Dieu Huyen, Vice President in charge of the Vietnam Women Entrepreneurs Council, VCCI emphasized: "Promoting gender equality in the world of work is about unleashing women's economic potential, promoting their contributions to the comprehensive growth of the economy. Through close cooperation between stakeholders, we can build a comprehensive care ecosystem, bringing benefits to women, businesses and the community".

Ms. Caroline T. Nyamayemombe, UN Women Representative in Viet Nam, shared: “Investing in care systems is not only necessary but also transformative. Such investment will benefit women, men, care recipients, communities and the country. The State, social organizations, businesses and communities must work together to build a gender-responsive care economy that benefits everyone.”

Conference scene.

Caregiving responsibilities are one of the main reasons for women’s limited participation in the labour market. Lack of care services forces women to take up precarious, unstable jobs or even to quit their jobs. In addition, paid care work is often done by women, most of whom are migrants, with poor working conditions, low wages and limited social and labour protection. If women’s contribution to all forms of care is considered, women contribute US$11 trillion to the global economy.

Yet women and girls continue to suffer from undervalued care work and underinvestment in care services, setting us back in our progress towards gender equality.

The care economy refers to the economic sector concerned with the provision of care services (paid and unpaid) to people including children, women, the elderly, the sick, the disabled... The care economy plays an important role in maintaining the functioning of society.

The workshop discussed the care economy, the importance of the care economy; businesses that practice family-friendly care policies well, businesses that provide quality care services, comply with labor laws and gender equality and are accessible to customers; towards building a gender-responsive care economy in Vietnam.

The workshop is part of the efforts of the Vietnam Women Entrepreneurs Council and UN Women to promote gender equality and women's economic empowerment in Vietnam.

Source: https://thoidai.com.vn/dau-tu-vao-kinh-te-cham-soc-giai-phap-thuc-day-binh-dang-gioi-va-tang-truong-ben-vung-211207.html