The Timor-Leste National Consultation on Valuing and Investing in the Care Economy will be jointly convened by the Secretary of State for Equality (SEI) of Timor-Leste and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). 

Building on the outcomes of the Kickoff Workshop held on 26 June 2025, this consultation marks a key milestone in advancing national dialogue, coordination, and action on the care economy. It brings together a broad coalition of stakeholders, from government ministries and civil society to the private sector, development partners, and the UN Country Team, to explore gender-responsive policy solutions that recognize, reduce, and redistribute unpaid care and domestic work.

The Consultation will serve as an inclusive platform to:

- Strengthen national awareness and shared understanding of the care economy, its significance for sustainable development, gender equality, and women’s economic empowerment in Timor-Leste;

- Explore practical policy entry points across key sectors to recognize, reduce, and redistribute unpaid care and domestic work and address structural barriers to gender equality;

- Apply the Model Framework for Policy Action on Care Economy (MFA) to support the identification of care policy gaps and development of gender-transformative, evidence-based interventions;

- Build strategic partnerships and foster coordinated action among government, civil society, and development partners to support long-term investment in care services, infrastructure, and protections aligned with national development goals and the Maubisse Declaration (2023-2028).

Structured over three days, the consultation will feature high-level sessions, bilateral discussions with key ministries, and interactive workshops to map synergies, identify policy gaps, and shape a shared roadmap for action. The outcomes resulted in the identification of entry points for policy action on the care economy in Timor-Leste.