16.12.24
UN Geneva - The working group on discrimination against women and girls has requested input on care policies and programmes worldwide. In addition to highlighting examples of good laws, policies and practices that recognise and support unpaid caregivers, MMM, in its response, recalls that mothers are particularly impacted by their caring responsibilities in all aspects of their lives and that they ought to be properly accompanied.
The UN working group on discrimination against women and girls is preparing a report on the gendered dimensions of care and support. To inform this report, we have responded to the questions addressed in their call for input and provided information on existing good practices in terms of policies and programs at the international, regional, national and local levels.
While the Covid-19 pandemic uncovered the critical role of both paid and unpaid care work, global policies continue to lag behind in terms of addressing the economic and social penalties that caregivers face. Our societies and economic policy-making continue to prioritise growth over care and well-being.
Still, several countries are more advanced, in particular in Latin America, and offer possible paths forward and interesting examples to build on.
However, we at MMM believe that maternity protection should be granted to all mothers without conditionality, whereas it is usually linked to formal employment. As a result, nearly half of mothers with newborns do not receive maternity cash benefits. This gap has to be addressed because it can put mothers – and their children – in precarious situations.
Lone mothers are particularly vulnerable to poverty because the unpaid domestic, care and educational work they shoulder on their own limits their ability to dedicate enough time to a formal paid activity. They ought to benefit from tailored support. As an example of good practice, the municipality of Ris Orangis in France has created a municipal status for single parents that provides specific rights and benefits to facilitate their daily lives and their access to childcare, employment and housing.
To facilitate mothers’ access or return to work, a promising avenue is the recognition and validation of the skills that they gain through caring for and educating their children. The MAV project (Mom Virtual Assistant Project) is an EU initiative which is a good example to build on: it not only helps mothers acquire new digital and entrepreneurial skills, but also leverages the unique soft skills they have gained through motherhood to empower and elevate them professionally.
Last but not least, our answer to the call for input also highlights good practices by our grassroots member associations. In particular, the Mothers Centres International Network for Empowerment supports mothers by providing spaces where they can meet, share experiences, help each other, and find relief and support. Many of our members also provide training and support to lone mothers in Morocco (Ahddane), Uruguay (Ceprodih), Spain (Fundacion Isadora Duncan), Kenya (Passion to Share Foundation) and the Netherlands (Single Super Moms).
These various examples of policies and programmes at the international, national and grassroots levels show promising pathways for progress. Decision-makers hold a responsibility in addressing the gendered dimensions of care, recognising that the well-being of caregivers and care receivers is the backbone of a healthy society and a functioning economy.
Here’s our full answer to the call for input
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