Topic: 2024-Unpaid Care and Domestic Work
Country: Senegal
Delegate Name: Sophia Schafer
Committee: ECOSOC
Topic A: Unpaid Care and Domestic Work
Country: Senegal
Delegate: Sophia Schafer
School: Williamston High School
According to UN Women, as of December 2020, only 45.9% of the indicators necessary to monitor the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from a gender perspective were available, revealing significant gaps in critical areas like unpaid care and domestic work. This issue is especially prevalent in Senegal, where patriarchal traditions are rooted deeply in Senegal society and preserve discrimination against women, limiting their access to higher education and higher standards of living compared to men. Many women in Senegal also lack access to banking services and face challenges in getting loans, mainly due to the lack of trust banks have in women to secure a job or get paid. This financial exclusion hinders their economic independence and opportunities. Additionally, women need help to receive fair pay for care and domestic work, with many women not being paid enough or sometimes not at all. To tackle these pressing issues, this committee must develop strategies that promote gender equality in the workforce, advocate for policy changes, and raise awareness about the importance of recognizing and valuing women’s contributions in the workforce and at home as well. Addressing these challenges is essential for reducing the amounts of women who are unjustly experiencing unpaid care and domestic work.
In an inspiring effort to combat discrimination and help women’s lives in Senegal, women have banded together to help eachother to rise in society despite the discrimination. One impactful program they have made is the TONTINES, a group of women who pool their money and earnings together. This communal approach allows them to distribute funds among themselves, creating a support system that increases financial stability for each other and empowers each member to manage their finances more effectively. In addition to the TONTINES, another organization that helps women and the underprivileged to be heard is UNACOIS. It has emerged to assist the disadvantaged, particularly women facing hardship, and new businesses. UNACOIS is dedicated to promoting financial stability and empowerment, helping women build trust with banking institutions, and equipping small businesses with the tools they need to flourish and gain popularity and business among the overpowering companies. Support for UNACOIS comes from influential leaders such as Idy Thiam, the president of Senegal. This partnership shows that Senegal is ready to take on a stance against the everyday issues of unpaid care and domestic labor, especially for women, as Senegal strives to create an equal society where all women have the opportunity to thrive.
Senegal cares deeply about its women, so it has teamed up with Burkina Faso and created more jobs for them. The created job opportunities are called green jobs, resulting from the Great Green Wall Initiative. This initiative is designed to restore destroyed ecosystems that have degraded over time and combat the impacts of climate change by capturing carbon emissions and increasing climate resistance. The Green Wall initiative will generate over 10 million jobs for their people, including underpaid women who will now be paid for their work instead of being underpaid by a different non-governmental job. Along with the Great Green Wall initiative, Senegal is trying to improve the working conditions of women by partnering with the UN Women to integrate solutions into local investment plans, adapt health insurance systems to support these women, and facilitate policy discussions around care work at various levels. This solution they are working on with many other countries is called the “Transformative Approaches to Recognize, Reduce and Redistribute Work unpaid care work in women’s economic empowerment in Senegal, Rwanda, and South Africa.” Senegal does not want to cast aside our women, but we are working towards allowing them equal representation to men in the workforce.
As a country that wants to ride above the discrimination women face every day, we are open to anything that will help give our women equal representation in the workforce and not have to face the struggles of unpaid care and domestic work. Senegal looks to a future full of equality, and we are looking for anyone to join us. Our possible solutions are creating more potential jobs for women that hopefully help the environment. We are looking forward to a future with women who are not struggling to find a stable job, and we will do anything to create a future for the women of Senegal.
