Asia-Pacific Care Economy Forum

Convening the ecosystem of entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers and other stakeholders to drive action for an inclusive care economy

Honorable Minister Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy binti Shukri, Minister of Women, Family and Community Development

YBhg. Prof. Emerita Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr. Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin

President, National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO)

Colleagues from the UN Women Asia and the Pacific team,

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

a very good morning to you all

On behalf of the United Nations in Malaysia I would like to welcome everyone to the second day of the Asia-Pacific Care Economy Forum.

I am honored to address you in the honorable presence of Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy binti Shukri, Minister of Women, Family and Community Development.

Your leadership and presence today are a testament to your engagement, commitment and resolve to take action. We all appreciate it.

It fills me with hope to see the conversation on the care economy gaining attention and prominence in global and regional platforms.

Today’s forum will contribute to enhancing the Asia-Pacific voice and perspective at the Women Deliver Conference next month. Its outcome will feed into the pre-conference on Strengthening Care Policies and Intersectional Movements for Care Justice.  

This is how momentum is built for policies to change, and it is high time for unpaid care to be recognized and valued through actions that address this glaring global injustice and barrier to women's participation in the economy and to the advancement of all nations.

COVID-19 pandemic will long be remembered by its devastating impact, particularly on the most vulnerable. We will and must remember how it magnified disproportionate responsibilities of unpaid care work that women bear and which governments across the world had overlooked.

ILO estimates indicate that 2 million working mothers left the global labor force in 2020 as a result of increased care duties during the pandemic. Before COVID-19, and across the world, without exception, women already performed three-quarters of unpaid care work.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We know what is wrong, what is not just, and what we must do.

We know the numbers, the risks and the potential gains.  

We also know that we are not on track to achieve the SDGs by 2030 and deliver on Goal 5 (achieve gender equality and empower women and girls everywhere).

The persisting unequal distribution of care work, primarily shouldered by women and girls, not only limits their opportunities for education, employment, and economic advancement but also perpetuates gender inequalities.

In Malaysia, a recent (2018) study by Khazanah Research Institute found that almost 60.2% of women outside the labour force cited housework and family responsibilities as the reason for not being in the labour force, compared with only 3.6% of men. Similarly, 31.5% of women were underemployed i.e. worked less than 30 hours weekly due to house chores, compared with only 4.1% of men.

This explains why women’s labour force participation remains lower. This explains why the gap between men’s and women’s labour force participation is so wide in Malaysia. It is also a missed economic opportunity for Malaysia.

Transforming our world and leaving no one behind, two core principles of the 2030 Agenda, requires that we work to reduce inequalities.

The care systems need to be reevaluated on a global scale. This involves providing quality, affordable, and accessible care to families, enabling women to enter, remain in, and progress in the workplace, while also creating new and decent work opportunities for both women and men in the care sector.

Access to care should be made available to those who need it now and those who will need it in the future: children, persons with disabilities, older persons, and others.

This involves a systems approach to build a resilient care economy, one that is adaptable, responsive and able to ensure delivery of care services during pandemics, natural disasters, economic downturns, and social and demographic disruptions (population ageing in the case of Malaysia).

Today 7% of the Malaysian population is aged 65 and above, a proportion that is expected to increase to 14% by 2040.  This age structural transition will continue, with Malaysia becoming a super-aged nation by 2056, much faster than most developed countries, which had a century or over to adapt.

A resilient care economy also recognizes the importance of valuing and supporting caregivers, providing them with adequate resources, protections, and opportunities for professional development.

While Malaysia has made some positive policy steps, a systems approach will further consider the interconnectedness and interdependencies of various components within the care system: institutions, policies, and resources.

It involves examining the entire care ecosystem, including formal and informal, local and migrant, paid and unpaid caregivers, care recipients, service providers, funding mechanisms, regulations, and social norms.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Adopting innovative solutions with high impact requires a multi-stakeholder approach that advances progressive policies and explores new care delivery models that can help fill the supply and demand gap and ensure ethical recruitment and better working conditions for the care workforce.

Drawing on the experiences of other countries broadens the spectrum of options and saves time and resources. There is a wealth of success stories, in Malaysia, Asia and beyond. Innovation in the care sector through digital solutions and assistive technologies has improved care delivery efficiency and suitability.

Most countries who have taken bold steps in the care economy have had to review social protection systems, healthcare coverage, retirement benefits, and enacted family-friendly policies to alleviate the financial burden on individuals and families seeking care services. The most successful experiences have put women front and center in decision-making.

This is an investment, not a cost. Engaging women in the labour market will have direct positive impact on economic performance.

A recent study by UNFPA in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy of Malaysia and Harvard School of Public Health has shown how investment in sexual and reproductive health and family support will yield positive returns and directly impact female labor force participation, economic growth and bridge the gender divide in the economy, society and politics.

Earlier this week, the UN and MITI launched the Malaysia SDG investor Map, a market intelligence tool of SDG Impact to help private investors identify investment opportunities and business models that advance the SDGs. Among the fifteen investment opportunity areas identified, two are in the care economy, ranging from care infrastructure to care services, technologies and workforce.

I close by commending these efforts of the government of Malaysia and call on all stakeholders and partners to engage in support of a vibrant resilient care economy that boosts women’s opportunities and enable them to fully contribute to sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

Thank you.