Manila - The Institute for Labor Studies (ILS) - Gender and Development Committee held a forum on the care economy titled, "Care Has No Gender: Looking through the Spectrum of Care Economy", on 14 March 2024 from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., at the DOLE Command Center, 5/F Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Building, Intramuros, Manila, and Online via Zoom and Facebook Live.

The forum aimed to shed light on the multifaceted nature of care work, its impact on gender equality, and the policies and programs that promote equal care responsibilities in the country. The DOLE bureaus, services, regional offices, and DOLE tripartite partners attended the hybrid event.

Resource speakers from the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns (BWSC), and Federation of Free Workers (FFW) discussed topics on paid and unpaid care work, DOLE policies and programs on promoting care work and equal care responsibilities, and labor group perspectives on promoting care work and supporting women's economy participation.

Arianne Ishreen C. Bucar, Senior Labor and Employment Officer from the Institute's Workers Welfare Research Division, also presented the research findings of her graduate thesis titled "On Women's Economic Participation and Childcare Needs in the Philippines: An Analysis of the Enabling Environment."

In her welcome remarks, Executive Director III Jeanette T. Damo said that the issue of care work is also a gendered issue as it is usually tied to social norms and expectations on gender roles that men and women perform in the household. "Recognizing the value of care work is a step towards realizing the influence of unequal care responsibilities on gender gaps in labor outcomes such as labor force participation rate, wages, and opportunities," Executive Director Damo added.

The replay forum is accessible through the ILS Official Facebook page at https://bit.ly/ILSForum-CareEconomy.

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