The ILO, together with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and UN Women, marked the International Day of Care and Support 2025 with a high-level event at the Palais des Nations in Geneva under the theme "Care and Support for All: Human Rights for All Those Providing and Requiring Care and Support."
The event brought together representatives of governments, employers' and workers' organizations, UN organizations, and civil society to highlight progress in advancing decent work in the care economy and in connecting global, regional and national efforts to transform care and support systems.
Care work, both paid and unpaid, makes all other work possible and sustains every society and economy. Despite this, hundreds of millions of women around the world remain excluded from the labour market and leadership positions because of unpaid care responsibilities, a gap that perpetuates inequality and holds back economic progress.
The care economy is increasingly recognized as a cornerstone of sustainable development. Investing in care creates jobs, drives gender equality and strengthens societies, with the potential to create 299 million jobs by 2035 and generate a return of US$3.76 in global GDP for every dollar invested.
At the event, representatives from South Africa, Mexico, Bangladesh and Moldova, along with UN entities and civil society organizations, shared policy experiences on financing; South-South and international cooperation; and integrating care into climate, migration and humanitarian agendas. They discussed expanding access to care and support services and improving working conditions for care workers, to make care gender, age- and disability-responsive.
Ms Louise Høj Larsen, Senior Adviser, Confederation of Danish Employers, speaking on behalf of the IOE, noted that "the care sector is one of the most vital and rapidly growing pillars of the global economy, but to deliver quality care, investment in upskilling and reskilling is necessary. Employers' organizations continue to take a proactive stance to professionalize care work by promoting access to training and raising awareness of the importance of wellbeing for caregivers. Effective outcomes are crucial for quality care and human dignity."
Representing the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Maria Tsirantonaki stated: "Care is a human right, a public good, and the foundation of social justice, inclusive economic growth and sustainable development. The ITUC and its affiliates remain firmly committed to advancing care policies and systems that promote decent work and gender equality, using the ILO Resolution as a roadmap."
The ILO, leading implementation of the global care agenda
Since the adoption of the 2024 Resolution concerning Decent Work and the Care Economy, the ILO has moved swiftly to operationalize its 2024-2030 Plan of Actio, -developing constituents' capacities; launching the South-4-Care Platform in Doha (Qatar) in September 2025, connecting countries through South-South and Triangular Cooperation; preparing the Tripartite Meeting of Experts on Paternity and Parental Protection and other care leave; and advancing global statistical work to establish new standards for measuring care work.
Closing the event, Ms Sukti Dasgupta, Director of the ILO's Conditions of Work and Equality Department, noted that 2025 has seen significant advances on the care agenda. While persistent barriers remain, she emphasized the need to "act decisively on three fronts: invest in care; involve governments and social partners in dialogue; and implement policies grounded in care-related international labour standards for a rights-based approach to care."
On this observance day, the ILO and its constituents call for:
Bold public investment in care, as a catalyst for inclusive and sustainable development;
Active engagement in social dialogue to design policies that deliver quality jobs in the care sector and facilitate a fair redistribution of care responsibilities between women and men;
Ratification by Member States of care-related international labour standards, including Conventions 183, 156, 149 and 189, as a key to a rights-based approach to care;
Implementation of the 5R Framework for Decent Care Work to recognize, reduce and redistribute unpaid care work, while rewarding and representing paid care workers-to achieve gender equality and decent work for all.
