Topic: 2024-Unpaid Care and Domestic Work
Country: Colombia
Delegate Name: Lillian Navin
In Columbia, just like other countries, women disproportionately bear the burden of unpaid care and domestic work. Domestic tasks such as caring for children, cooking, and cleaning are critical for society to function. While 76.4% of men are part of the labor force in Colombia in contrast only 52.1 percent of women are according to the 2024 report from BBVA research. This unequal distribution of unpaid labor has significant implications for women’s education, economic mobility, and overall well-being. Colombia believes that this is a critical issue to address gender equality and improve the lives of many women and families.
To address the problem of unpaid labor and domestic work, Columbia believes the UN must take a multifaceted approach. Columbia wants to first focus on ensuring young women have access to education that they can balance with caregiving responsibilities. Columbia would like to additionally emphasize supporting caregivers and recognize the economic value of the work they provide. Unpaid domestic and care work in Colombia, mainly done by women, was valued at 21.7 percent of the gross domestic product in 2021 according to the Care Economy Satellite Account of the National Statistics Department which shows how valuable the labor done by women is to society. Further, this committee must address the deeply rooted cultural expectations for women and advocate for more equitable distributions of unpaid domestic work.
An ideal resolution will focus on public awareness of the economic values of unpaid labor and promote shared domestic responsibility. Furthermore, there must be a focus on government and community support programs. Colombia recommends that the committee advocate for government subsidies and tax credits for families that depend on unpaid caregivers in expanding programs for Community child and elder care centers, particularly in rural areas. Most importantly, access to education must be improved for young women. Flexible school schedules and scholarship programs should be considered to improve education for women with caregiving responsibilities.
Columbia has taken significant steps to address the issue of unpaid care and domestic work. Programs like the Care Economy Act (law 1413-2010) which makes unpaid labor be accounted for in National Economic statistics which helps inform policy-making and initiatives such as the De Cero a Siempre (From Birth to Forever) have shown that subsidizing child care services can reduce the burden on women. This committee should draw on these presidents and include a scaling up of investment in affordable care services and create a legal framework that redistributes responsibilities within households and ensures a national accounting system to measure the value of unpaid work.
By promoting collaboration and implementing proven strategies from Columbia and other countries this community can drive Global progress toward achieving greater gender equality and economic empowerment, especially for women in domestic work settings. Columbia is committed to addressing the challenges of unpaid care and domestic work by implementing policies that value unpaid labor, increase education access, and promote gender equality to empower women to participate fully in all sectors of society.
Works Cited:
Calderón, Juan. “‘De Cero a Siempre,’ A Commitment to Our Children ‘s Early Years.” Espacio para la Infancia, 2019, https://espacioparalainfancia.online/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/1.1-De-Cero-a-Siempre-1.pdf.
International Labour Organization (ILO). “Providing Care Through the Social and Solidarity Economy.” June 2024, https://www.ilo.org/sites/default/files/2024-06/Colombia%20Brief%20Final.pdf.
Llanes, María Claudia. “Colombia.” BBVA Research, 27 Sept. 2024, https://www.bbvaresearch.com/en/publicaciones/colombia-women-to-increase-their-labor-force/.
UN Women. “Promoting Women’s Economic Empowerment: Recognizing and Investing in the Care Economy.” May 2018, https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/Library/Publications/2018/Issue-paper-Recognizing-and-investing-in-the-care-economy-en.pdf.
Yeung, Peter. “With Free Laundry and Salsa Classes, Bogotá Tries to Care for Its Unpaid Caregivers.” The Christian Science Monitor, 25 June 2024, https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2024/0625/colombia-women-caregivers-unpaid-labor. Accessed 19 Nov. 2024.
“How a Citywide Social System Relieves Women from Unpaid Care Work.” Unstuck by UNDP, 16 June 2022, https://unstuck.systems/how-a-citywide-social-system-relieves-women-from-unpaid-care-work/.
