RFSD 2025: SDG 5 Roundtable, Intervention from the floor

Comment from floor by Goda Neverauskaite:

I would like to address gaps in the labour force participation. The lack of equal pay for work of equal value is one of the main factors hampering equitable and inclusive labour markets and contributing to the feminization of poverty.

Women are overrepresented in precarious, casual, and informal work, often forced to leave the workforce or even education due to the disproportionate burden of care responsibilities at home. Investment in care economy – childcare, healthcare, elderly care – should not be seen as an expense but recognized as a vital investment in our economic future.

It’s crucial to make sure that women would benefit as workers in care sectors while receiving decent wages and working conditions, social protection, and pension income, ensuring dignity and security also benefiting as recipients of affordable care services with adequate policies in place. Sufficient investments in care economy are essential for closing the persistent gender pay gap, liberate women to participate more fully in the labor market, unleashing their full economic potential. Addressing the economic vulnerabilities of women is not just a matter of fairness, but a fundamental driver of economic growth and societal well-being.