Care, the overlooked dimension of social development and justice

Unpaid care work carried out disproportionately by women – particularly mothers – is essential to sustaining life, families, and economies. Yet it remains largely invisible in public policy, undervalued in national budgets, and absent from legal frameworks. This invisibility has real and lasting consequences, including economic insecurity, time poverty, and intergenerational cycles of inequality, especially for women who are already marginalized.

Advancing social justice requires transforming how care is recognised, organised, and supported. This means moving from fragmented support to coordinated systems, from narrow solutions to intersectional design, and from individual to collective responsibility.

Examples of good practice exist

• In Uruguay, the National Integrated Care System establishes care as a legal right and provides coordinated services for children, older adults, persons with disabilities, and their caregivers. Supported by a national framework, the system ensures continuity across political cycles and enables civil society participation in shaping priorities.
• In Bogotá, the District Care System, designed inclusively through dialogue with more than 5,500 women, reimagines urban space by placing care at the centra of local planning. Its Care Blocks bring services together in one location, while mobile units extend access to underserved areas. Importantly, the system also invests in cultural transformation, including initiatives that engage men in caregiving roles.

While these systems are not perfect, but they demonstrate what is possible when care is treated as a right, a public good, and a shared societal responsibility.

Intersectionality Is Essential

No care system can be truly inclusive unless it actively addresses intersectionality. Single mothers, migrant women, women with disabilities, and caregivers in rural or informal settings face overlapping and compounding disadvantages. A one-size-fits-all approach cannot respond to these diverse realities. Care policies must be adapted to reach and support those most often excluded.

Care Systems as accelerators of the 2030 Development Agenda

Integrated and intersectional care systems are also powerful accelerators of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly:

• SDG 5 – Gender Equality
• SDG 3 – Health and Wellbeing
• SDG 4 – Quality Education
• SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth
• SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities
• SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities

Despite these clear links, care remains underrepresented in national SDG strategies – representing a significant missed opportunity.

Our call for action

To advance social justice through inclusive and coordinated policies, Make Mothers Matter calls on Member States and relevant institutions to:

• Recognise care as a right
  Officially recognise the right to give and receive care by integrating care into national laws, development plans, and social protection systems, ensuring public support for caregiving throughout the life course.

• Create and fund public care services
  Invest in high-quality, accessible care services, including childcare, elder care, disability, respite care, parental leave, and caregiver training. Services should be free or affordable, widely available, and responsive to diverse needs.

• Ensure care systems are inclusive for all
  Design care policies with particular attention to those most at risk of exclusion, such as single mothers, migrants women, people with disabilities, and those in rural or informal settings. Services must be accessible, culturally appropriate, and adaptable.

• Include caregivers and communities in decision-making
  Create formal mechanisms to ensure that caregivers and care recipients – especially women and marginalised groups – participate meaningfully in shaping care policies. Governments should create formal spaces where their voices are heard, and their knowledge helps guide decisions.

• Promote shared responsibility for care
  Support education, public campaigns, and programs that encourage men and boys to take on caregiving roles, challenge harmful gender norms, and promote equality within families and communities.

• Integrate care into SDG strategies
  Explicitly include care in national SDG implementation plans by setting measurable targets, allocating dedicated funding, and ensuring coordination across government ministries.

A more just future depends on transforming how we value and support care. By building integrated and inclusive care systems, we do not merely shift responsibilities away from individual women – we reshape social contracts around shared responsibility, dignity, and equity.

Read MMM’s full statement:  As submitted – As UN document (ref. E/CN.5/2026/NGO/10)

The 64th session of the UN Commission on Social Development will take place from 2-12 February 2026 at the UN headquarters in New York. Priority Theme: Advancing Social Development and Social Justice through Coordinated, Equitable, and Inclusive Policies.