GAC Flagship Event at the Second World Summit for Social Development "Care at the Center of Social Development: Advancing Care-Centered Solutions for an Equal World"
Join us at the World Social Summit for the GAC Flagship Event "Care at the Center of Social Development: Advancing Care-Centered Solutions for an Equal World"!
In 1995, the World Summit for Social Development produced the Copenhagen Declaration, a landmark agreement that placed people at the center of development and committed to making women’s domestic work visible as a key pillar of gender equality. It highlighted the need to reduce women’s disproportionate responsibilities for care work as essential for women’s full participation in the workforce.
Three decades later, as the world gathers for the Second World Summit for Social Development, little progress has been made in the social organization of care. Women still perform three times more care work than men, constraining their well-being, employment, and equality. Meanwhile, paid care workers face low wages, precarious conditions, and discrimination, while care and support receivers struggle with inadequate, inaccessible, and poor-quality services that undermine autonomy and the right to independent living. These structural inequalities are exacerbated by climate change, health emergencies, conflict, and population aging, which increase demand for care and strain fragile systems.
Care lies at the core of addressing these challenges. Evidence shows that investing in care generates decent jobs, supports women’s economic participation, strengthens services for children, older persons, and persons with disabilities, and delivers broad social and economic returns. A growing international consensus recognizes care as central to equality, inclusion, and sustainable development. Governments are beginning to act, with Latin American countries leading the way in developing care systems and the European Union adopting a Care Strategy and Work-Life Balance Directives.
Within this context, this Solutions Session convenes governments, civil society, and international organizations to advance care-centered approaches that address global challenges while fostering poverty eradication, decent work, and social inclusion. During this event, stakeholders will share their experiences and progress in implementing care policies, as well as their contributions to achieving gender equality and sustainable development. They will also explore how care policies can address intersecting crises and address the needs and interests of different groups.
Date and time: Wednesday, November 5, from 4:45 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Venue: Qatar National Convention Center, Room 105.
Organizers: Governments of Mexico, Chile, Spain, and Uruguay, UN Women, International Trade Union Confederation, and United Cities and Local Governments, in the framework of the Global Alliance for Care
Spanish-English interpretation available. Streaming on UN Web TV.
Speakers:
- Ariadna Montiel, Secretary of Welfare, Government of Mexico
- Sima Sami Bahous, Executive Director, UN Women
- María Rosa Martínez Rodríguez, Secretary of State for Social Rights, Government of Spain
- Rodrigo Arim, Director of the Office of Planning and Budgets, Government of Uruguay
- Amitabh Behar, Executive Director, Oxfam International
- Connie Laurin-Bowie, Executive Director, Disability Rights Fund
- María Rosalba Gómez Vasquez, Director of the International Relations Department, Central Unitaria de Trabajadores de Colombia (on behalf of the International Trade Union Confederation)
- Eider Inunciaga, Deputy Mayor for Citizenship, Agenda 2030 and International Affairs, Bilbao, United Cities and Local Governments
- Javiera Toro Cáceres, Minister of Social Development and Family, Government of Chile
Moderated by Ana Moreno, Technical Secretary, Global Alliance for Care
