At the 59th session of the Human Rights Council, CHOICE’s partner, Lulu Okongo, from The National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) gave a statement on women and girls shouldering the disproportionate burden of caregiving responsibilities. Women comprise 70 % of the global health workforce but hold only 25 % of senior positions. Caregiving obligations limit women’s civic and political participation. Voluntary community support roles remain gendered, and girls still bear the bulk of household chores. Despite UN efforts, most States have not yet woven care into economic planning.

In Lulu’s statement, she reminded States that adequately and properly valuing care can spark transformative change, especially for diverse youth. Embedding youth-led initiatives (peer counseling, community health outreach, intergenerational mentorship) can challenge harmful gender norms and open care pathways for young, diverse people.

Read the full statement and show your support!

Chair, Distinguished Delegates, Colleagues,

Care has long underpinned human societies across the globe, yet its value remains unappreciated, hidden, and uncompensated, disproportionately affecting all women and girls.

Women comprise 70 % of the global health workforce but hold only 25 % of senior positions. Caregiving obligations limit women’s civic and political participation. Voluntary community support roles remain gendered, and girls still bear the bulk of household chores. Despite UN efforts, most States have not yet woven care into economic planning.

Without legal recognition of care as remunerable labor, without social protection for caregivers, and without gender-responsive budgets for care infrastructure, caregivers’ rights go unmet and progress stalls.

Adequately and properly valuing care can spark transformative change, especially for diverse youth. Embedding youth-led initiatives (peer counseling, community health outreach, intergenerational mentorship) can challenge harmful gender norms and open care pathways for young, diverse people.

We therefore urge Member States and international institutions to:

● Establish gender‑responsive budgeting units within finance ministries to monitor and adjust care-related expenditures.

● Integrate care work, paid and unpaid, into labor laws, ensuring protections regardless of gender, age, migration status, race, sexual orientation, or any other identities.

● Adopt and fully implement legal frameworks recognizing, regulating, and remunerating care work per ILO Conventions 189 and 190, with accountability mechanisms, decent working conditions, social protection, and violence prevention.

● Mandate youth and caregiver representation in local and national care policy consultations.

I thank you.