In a virtual meeting promoted by the International Labor Organization (ILO) in partnership with IBGE, the challenges and complexity of measuring caregiving work and the need for countries to share good practices on the subject were discussed.
With the participation of 19 ministers of state and representatives of the African Union in the area of Labor and Employment, as well as multilateral organizations and the federal government, such as the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística /IBGE) and ILO, the virtual meeting "Advancing the measurement of caregiving work and the caregiving economy in support of gender equality and autonomy" was held on July 9. Brazilian Minister of Labor and Employment Luiz Marinho attended the meeting.
Participants discussed the challenges and complexity of measuring care work and the need to share good practices developed by the G20 countries in order to contribute to the process of defining international standards on care work statistics.
"One of the priorities of the Brazilian G20 presidency is gender equality," stated Minister Luiz Marinho in his opening address. He declared that there is already a consensus around this issue. "Unpaid caregiving work falls disproportionately on the shoulders of women, Black women in particular," he said.
According to the minister, when we talk about the caregiving economy, we are talking about sectors such as health, education and social care, which are fundamental to the functioning of our society. "These sectors not only create jobs, but also sustain the workforce by allowing people to balance caring responsibilities with work," he pointed out.
In Brasil, almost 75% of all jobs in the sector are held by women. This equates to approximately 18 million women working in domestic jobs as caregivers, teachers up to elementary school, nursing staff, doctors, physical therapists, and social workers, among others. The main occupational category in the caregiving sector is domestic workers. The most recent data indicate that 93% of the category is made up of women and that 61% of them are Black.
The meeting organizers aim to bring together important contributions to the deliberations of the G20 Employment and Women's Empowerment Working Groups, as well as essential data for ILO's recently launched Work Programme to develop international statistical standards, definitions and an allied measurement framework for caregiving work.
National Caregiving Policy
Earlier this month, in an unprecedented move in terms of state actions, the Brazilian Federal Government submitted a proposal for a National Caregiving Policy to be analyzed by Congress. The proposal aims to guarantee the rights of both those who provide caregiving and those who are cared for, with special attention to gender, race, ethnic, and territorial inequalities. The text was based on the work of a group involving teams from 20 ministries, as well as members from states, municipalities and academics. The Ministry of Labor and Employment took part in the group's discussions.
Caregiving work at the G20
In addition, this week, the G20 Women's Empowerment Working Group, coordinated by the Brazilian Ministry of Women, held a technical meeting focusing on the issue. The WG also held an international seminar about caregiving work and the sustainability of life and the economy.
On the occasion, Maria Helena Guarezi, executive secretary of the Ministry of Women and coordinator of the working group, highlighted the synergy among countries in the search for progress on the agenda. "One interesting thing is that all the countries look at this from more or less the same angle. Of course, respecting the geographical, climatic, cultural and political diversity of each one, but all the members of the G20 have discussed the issue of caregiving as an important element for development and GDP growth, also" she stated.
