The rhythmic beat of victory drums and sustained applause filled the conference room in Bangkok as care champions from across Asia and the Pacific stepped forward to receive recognition for their pioneering work in building inclusive and sustainable care systems.
“Think of an iceberg,” explains Hyeshin Park from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). “What we see on the surface, like the gender pay gaps or under representation of women in leadership roles is just the tip of the iceberg.”
The care champions that walked the halls of ESCAP on this rare, cool Bangkok morning work to uncover the hidden barriers that sustain these inequalities: a critical one being the lack of recognition of unpaid and underpaid care work.
A Crucial Moment for Care
The 2024 Asia-Pacific Care Champions event on the third day of the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on the Beijing+30 Review brought together these pivotal changemakers from across the region. The event was organized by ESCAP and UN Women, with support from the Global Alliance for Care and in collaboration with Oxfam and the World Bank.
The timing could not be more significant. As we approach the thirtieth anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action - the world's key commitment to women's rights and gender equality - the region faces unprecedented challenges in care work. With ageing populations, shifting demographics, and the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for robust, inclusive care systems has never been more pressing.
The numbers tell a compelling story: Asia and the Pacific has the world's largest care workforce, with about 1.3 billion people working informally out of 2 billion worldwide. In households across Asia and the Pacific, women spend 2-5 times more time on unpaid care and domestic work than men--effectively having a second workday without recognition or pay. While often invisible, the contribution of care to the region is invaluable. Estimates reveal that including unpaid care work in GDP measurements could add US$3.8 trillion to the regional economy.
