Liberia is expected to gain significant support from UN Women as part of its ambitious global strategy to transform the care economy and alleviate unpaid care work across West and Central Africa.
Making the disclosure earlier in Ganta, Nimba County at a three-day UN Women's multi-stakeholder policy dialogue workshop on Women's Economic Empowerment (WEE), UN Women Deputy Country Representative Yemi Falayajo highlighted the critical role of the care economy in driving gender equality and fostering national development.
"The care economy for us as UN Women, and unpaid care work in particular, is one of the barriers we have identified not just for gender equality, but for national development," said Falayajo.
She pointed to the economic potential Liberia stands to unlock by investing in its care sector, adding, "We are losing so much money, and we can earn and gain so much as well if we strategically engage in this."
The strategy, developed by the UN Women's regional office covering 15 Francophone and Anglophone countries, aims to address inequalities in care work and empower women economically by transforming care systems.
Liberia has been prioritized for support, which includes technical assistance and resources to strengthen national care initiatives, allowing the country to serve as a regional model for care reform.
Dr. Muriel Ametoglo, UN Women's Regional Feminist Economist, outlined the goals of the strategy, which was designed to complement UN Women's new global Women's Economic Empowerment Strategy.
"Our regional office for West and Central Africa has elaborated its new care strategy to support countries in transforming care systems," Ametoglo explained. This initiative will address the three core objectives of recognizing, reducing, and redistributing unpaid care work to boost gender equity and economic growth.
Dr. Ametoglo: "Our goal is to co-create solutions that work for women at the local level with local partners and also the private sector."
"Our approach to recognize, reduce, and redistribute women's unpaid care work is very important," Ametoglo noted. "We aim to advocate for paid care work, support its representation in national economies, and create an economic case for the care sector that will resonate with policymakers and stakeholders alike."
Liberia's inclusion in the care strategy brings several benefits, including strengthened collaboration among local partners, the private sector, and government agencies.
UN Women plans to hold dialogue sessions to enable stakeholders to come together, design tailored roadmaps, and build capacity in areas critical to the care economy.
"We have tools and specific training on the care economy and the linkages between care work and macroeconomic policy," said Ametoglo. "Our goal is to co-create solutions that work for women at the local level with local partners and also the private sector."
UN Women's new care strategy is expected to address systemic challenges that prevent women from accessing decent work and fair pay in the care economy.
The initiative places particular emphasis on empowering rural women and those in low-income urban communities, aiming to build pathways for women-led entrepreneurship in the care sector and provide affordable, quality care services to underserved populations.
With a goal to impact 100,000 women and girls across the region by 2030, the strategy also includes measures to address environmental sustainability, aiming to create 150 low-carbon jobs within the care economy.
"Through our programming, technical assistance, policy support, and research, we aim to increase access to care solutions, create low-carbon jobs, and develop legal frameworks to advance care policies," Ametoglo outlined.
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This initiative also seeks to tackle cultural and social norms that place the burden of care on women, with targeted measures such as positive masculinity training, financing for women-led care solutions, and support for innovations that address local needs.
UN Women hopes these efforts will bring about lasting changes that reduce gender-based disparities and uplift communities.
UN Women's Feminist Economist Task Force, which was recently established to provide specialized assistance to policymakers, will support Liberia's efforts to integrate gender-focused economic research into decision-making processes.
"Our goal is to work with stakeholders in Liberia through our country office, designing policies that work for women in the care sector and addressing unpaid care work," Ametoglo concluded.
