The workers we do not pay or see are grandmothers, mothers, girls-women who take care of children, take care of the members of the sick family and give dignity to the elderly.
To do this work of vital care, they abandon a formal job with pay checks.
“Our system is designed as if women did not care to work, which forces us to choose between raising children or working”, said Meredith Cortés Bravo, founder of a basic organization in Chile who supports these women.
But, in Latin America, it changes slowly – a Care Revolution is underway that asks governments and employers to consider what it would mean to recognize, protect and finance care work.
“Care is essential for each family and for each community. The revolution is to make it visible, to make it precious and to invest ”, María Noel Vaeza, United NationsThe regional director of Latin and Caribbean America, said News News.
The most off track
The high -level political forum (HLPF) on sustainable development Contesting at the UN headquarters in New York to discuss progress – or its absence – towards the whole agreed world Sustainable development objectives (ODD).
While 18% of goals are on the right track for 2030, Reach gender equality remains the most off track. Discriminatory laws and sex -based standards persist worldwide, women dedicating about twice more hours to unpaid care work than men.
“Gender equality is not a parallel problem. It is at the heart of peace, it is at the heart of justice and it is at the heart of sustainable development and the credibility of the multilateral system itself ”, Sima Bahous, Executive Director UN women, said for a forum session this week.
The revolution is underway
Before the start of the revolution, Latin America had to face a care crisis during COVID 19 Pandemic, according to Ms. Vaeza. There was not enough treatments available outside the house for patients, forcing society to recognize that taking care of others is work.
“Unpaid care work is what maintains economics on the move, but it is unfair because it is invisible, undervalued and sub-financed. We have to recognize it, ”said Vaeza.
In Latin America, a certain number of countries actively strive to rethink their savings in care, guaranteeing more protections and income for women and men who provide this work.
“The biggest change has been to take care at the center of public policies, not just university debates,” said Virginia Gontijo, leader in the United Nations Women’s Program in Brazil.
This work is already bearing fruit.
In Chile, one of the most ambitious care systems in the region already offers 151 municipalities, with the ultimate goal of reaching 75,000 people in the coming years.
The UN Women works with governments and civil society groups to ensure that these new systems, political and laws are shaped by and for caregivers.
A healthcare system in Brazil has worked closely with a network of activists to train caregivers in labor rights and promote long -term professional development.
“I never felt that my work was valued, but after this project, I feel better prepared to participate in political discussions and to make our voice heard”, ” said Lucileide Mafra Reis, activist for domestic workers in Brazil.
A woman and a young girl in Mexico.
Care is a human right
Mexico and Peru have adopted an approach more based on the rights of care, by codifying it as a fundamental human right.
While the international community has not yet made a similar guarantee, Ms. Vaeza said that the framework of human rights was exceptionally effective – it restores dignity and recognizes that care is a fundamental element of the trajectories of human life, from birth to death.
“If you say that care is a human right, it means that the government and the state must provide support,” said Vaeza.
It is just as important that employers protect the right of women to do care, said Helpéé Zamorano González, a mother who founded Mama Godin, an organization in Mexico who assesses the impact of health care policies.
This means ensuring that workplaces have policies that support mothers as workers, such as schedules that allow them to drop their children at school.
For her, these types of policies are crucial for women’s rights and in particular for their freedom and autonomy.
“You must be able to govern your life,” said Zamorano González UN News.
Beyond autonomy, however, it is also security. If a woman can earn her own money – and therefore her own decisions – she can leave abusive relationships and avoid economic exploitation.
“All other types of violence depend on the economic power you have. If you have the ability to make your own decisions and have money, you are safer, “said Zamorano González.
An economic investment
Changes in legal classifications and government support for care work not only benefit caregivers, but from the promotion of economic growth between companies.
“” [Care] is an investment, a strategic investment for social justice, gender equality and for sustainable development, “said Vaeza.
She noted that devoting public funds to pay the caregivers would make the investment tripo, both by increasing their purchasing power and generating tax revenues.
In Chile and Colombia, new healthcare systems are estimated at 25.6% and 19.6% respectively at their national GDP, according to UN women.
“When you invest in a female organization, you strengthen a living network, a tree with many branches that reach places, no program or institutional program could never,” said Ms. Bravo.
Export the revolution
The progress of Latin America on care is a model for other regions of the world and demonstrates the importance of changing legal frameworks for women and girls, according to Ms. Vaeza.
“It is extremely important that this revolution is exported. It is an investment, a strategic investment for social justice, gender equality and for sustainable development, ”she said.
While the revolution is underway, Ms. Zamorano González stressed the importance of economic empowerment for women as a means of protecting their own rights even when laws and policies fail.
“We are under capitalism, so while we change the system, play the game. Come on our own means of having freedom,” she said.
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
